TEMPE, Ariz. — Minutes after Arizona State’s 27-19 win over No. 16 Utah, Kenny Dillingham stood amid a swelling mass of humanity on the field at Mountain America Stadium for what was about to become one of the more entertaining on-field television experiences of the season.
An ESPN reporter asked Dillingham about Cameron Skattebo and what makes the senior running back so different. “His mentality,” Dillingham said late Friday night, trying to make his voice heard above the celebration. Fans on the left bumped into Dillingham. The Arizona State coach turned toward them and yelled as if he were at a rock concert.
“We fought! We competed!” Dillingham said, turning his attention back to the interview. “We put in the work! … Our kids care!”
The reporter asked Dillingham what a scene like this meant to him, an Arizona State alum, someone who grew up not far from this very field.
“It’s kind of crazy! I was one of these guys!” the 34-year-old coach said, referring to the fans.
Dillingham raised his right arm, backing into the crowd, jumping, jumping, until he was swallowed up, lost to Friday night’s celebration. In terms of exits, this was the best of the college football season, which is appropriate because, through six weeks, Arizona State is one of its biggest surprises.
Kenny Dillingham with an instant classic postgame interview after @ASUFootball takes down No. 16 Utah at home 🤣#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/uyBXXEDETh
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 12, 2024
Entering their first Big 12 season, the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the conference. They won three games in Dillingham’s first season. This year, the Sun Devils, still recovering from an NCAA investigation that occurred under previous coach Herm Edwards, weren’t expected to win many more.
And yet, at the regular-season halfway point, Arizona State stands 5-1 overall, 2-1 in the Big 12 and on the doorstep of the top 25.
Credit Skattebo, among the nation’s top running backs. He’s so respected he talked the coaching staff into going for it on fourth-and-1 from the ASU 29 early in Friday night’s fourth quarter, a move that backfired and could have cost the Sun Devils the game.
Credit Sam Leavitt, the first-year quarterback who keeps improving and showing poise beyond his years. Leavitt left in the second quarter after taking a strong hit to the ribs, but returned in the second half, keeping the Sun Devils steady. Credit a physical Arizona State defense that held Utah (4-2, 1-2) to a field goal after Skattebo was stopped on fourth down. Complementary football at its finest.
But mostly credit Dillingham, a coach who likes to play video games with his players, yet one who recently challenged Skattebo in front of the entire team at practice because, one, Skattebo was not with the kickoff team as assigned, and, two, Dillingham knows what buttons to push.
“Skatt needs to be challenged. That’s his personality,” he said.
In just his second year, Kenny Dillingham has taken a program mired in scandal to the doorstep of the top 25 after a 5-1 start. (Chris Coduto / Getty Images)
Dillingham has an uncommon connection to this team. This was clear last week, after Arizona State beat Kansas in the final minutes. After the game, Dillingham was interviewed at midfield, just as he had been Friday night. This time, Dillingham stood beside Leavitt, his quarterback. Dillingham credited Leavitt. Leavitt credited Dillingham. Then they turned and ran to the locker room, one arm around the other, looking like brothers, having the times of their lives.
Jared Leavitt, the quarterback’s father, wasn’t surprised. After Sam Leavitt entered the transfer portal last November, the family flew to the desert for a visit. Dillingham had recruited Sam Leavitt in high school, so Jared and Sam were familiar with him. Even so, Jared Leavitt still was impressed with the coach’s honesty and enthusiasm.
“He was so, like, nonchalant,” Jared Leavitt said in a recent phone interview. “Most college coaches, most, puff their chests a little bit, walk around, especially the head coach. Make it feel like it’s a privilege to even be talking to them. And, man, he was not like that. We went out to dinner and he was doing card tricks. There was no arrogance about the guy at all.”
Upon his hire in November of 2022, so much was made of Dillingham’s youth. “The youngest Power 5 coach in the country!” Someone less secure might have strayed beyond his personality, tried to act beyond his years. Dillingham said he actually did this once. For like six months at another school. He got caught up in, “Let me be what all these other coaches are.” But the act failed miserably. People saw through it.
Dillingham understands he’s different. And he realizes that in an industry of copycats, this might be his greatest advantage. “It may not be like the model of what success looks like in college, but I do believe the only way that I can have success — and we can have success — is if the person steering the boat believes and is genuine to who they are,” he said.
Arizona State opened with wins over Wyoming (having a down season), Mississippi State (having a worse season) and Texas State (doing just fine). The Sun Devils lost their Big 12 opener at Texas Tech, but rallied to beat Kansas in a shootout. The most impressive part was their edge. Skattebo ran with force, seeking contact instead of running from it. The defense, physical and quick, swarmed to the ball. It was a good start for a rebuilding program.
But beating Utah is different. Last year, the Utes embarrassed the Sun Devils, giving them their worst loss as a Pac-12 school. When a reporter mentioned the 55-3 final score at Dillingham’s weekly news conference, the coach acted as if it had been erased from memory.
“What was the score?” he said.
“Fifty-five to three,” the reporter answered.
“One more time?”
“Fifty-five to three.”
Such losses leave a scar, even in college football’s free-agency era. Players come and go, rosters turn over, but a 55-3 beatdown lingers. That’s why so many around the program hoped the Sun Devils could simply stay close Friday night, using the contest as a springboard to a better day.
Perhaps that day is closer than previously believed.
CAM SKATTEBO CAN’T BE STOPPED 🔥
ARIZONA STATE LEADS NO. 16 UTAH BY 8 WITH LESS THAN 3 MINUTES LEFT! pic.twitter.com/lD3hqudvZb
— ESPN (@espn) October 12, 2024
Skattebo rushed for 158 yards, which included second-half touchdown runs of 50 and 47 yards. Receiver Jordyn Tyson had five catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Caleb McCullough had 12 tackles and twice intercepted Utah quarterback Cameron Rising, who played for the first time since Sept. 7 because of a hand injury.
At his weekly radio show last week, the host pointed out that Skattebo and Leavitt had won weekly conference awards and wondered if Dillingham had said anything to them about handling success. Dillingham scoffed. “Those people who gave the awards are the same people who picked us dead last,” he said.
The Arizona State coach repeated a similar message at Friday night’s postgame news conference. The noise around his team might change, but it’s still noise. The Sun Devils cannot change their approach, Dillingham said. The Sun Devils are a team, working to build a program. This was just another step, but it was a big one. And it doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy it.
“That’s what college sports is about,” Dillingham said. “You go to a school (so) you can remember moments like this.”
(Top photo of Arizona State players and fans celebrating Friday’s win over Utah: Chris Coduto / Getty Images)
