TEMPE, Ariz. — After the knots in stomachs are untwisted and the final question of time management is asked, Arizona State fans will come to realize that this is the most memorable football season of the last 25 years, maybe longer.
It’s not so much that the Sun Devils are two years removed from the Herm Edwards era, which landed them on NCAA probation. It’s not that they were picked to finish last in this season’s Big 12, their first in a new conference. It’s that this team mirrors its head coach in so many ways.
Fun to watch. Extremely passionate. And also a little reckless.
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“I don’t know if there’s a way we can exceed expectations more than we’re exceeding them right now,’’ Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said.
In one of the biggest games here in years, the No. 21 Sun Devils on Saturday beat the No. 14 BYU Cougars 28-23 at sold-out Mountain America Stadium. The win pushed Arizona State to 9-2 and 6-2 in the Big 12 and kept the Sun Devils on a storybook journey. A win against rival Arizona next week puts them in the Big 12 Championship game. Most improbably, they remain alive for a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.
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Dillingham doesn’t want this to be about him. Like every coach, he wants the focus on his players. He’s right. Among the nation’s top running backs, Cam Skattebo flashed greatness against BYU, rushing for 147 yards and three touchdowns. Poised as always, Sam Leavitt passed for 247 yards. Cornerback Javan Robinson intercepted a near game-sealing BYU pass.
But in two seasons, Dillingham, 34, has become one of college football’s great characters. He’s got some Steve Spurrier in him. He doesn’t zing opponents like Spurrier once did, but the boldness is similar. Dillingham this season has gone viral for postgame interviews, disappearing into a sea of celebrating fans. He’s gone viral for announcing an open kicking tryout after Arizona State’s missed two late field goals in a loss at Cincinnati.
In Saturday’s second quarter, Skattebo scored his second touchdown to give Arizona State a 14-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, the Arizona State staff called for an onside squib kick. Parker Lewis kicked it perfectly. Plas Johnson recovered it. Brilliant. Arizona State scored six plays later, Skattebo running in from 23 yards to go up 21-0. The Sun Devils led 21-3 at halftime.
(After Skattebo’s third touchdown, he stopped and signed a football for popular YouTuber A.J. Greene just north of the end zone. His actions resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, which gave BYU better field position on its scoring drive. Asked about this after the game, Dillingham, seated next to Skattebo, looked at his running back and said, “Yeah, explain it.” Skattebo said he had noticed Greene on the previous touchdown but wasn’t able to sign. He told his linemen that after the next TD to stand behind him to try and shield officials. “That definitely won’t happen again,” Skattebo said.)
Suspect is known to find the end zone.
Make that 3 TDs in the 1st Half from Cameron Skattebo.#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/5vWqewn74h
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) November 23, 2024
Just before the third quarter, school president Michael Crow stepped into the press box elevator. In a brief conversation, he said that the Sun Devils this season have matched Dillingham’s passion and energy. He pointed out this team, unlike last year’s team, has avoided major injuries. Upon exiting the elevator, Crow looked back and said: “There’s still a half to go.”
BYU (9-2, 6-2) rallied, cutting Arizona State’s lead to 28-23 with 9 minutes left. The Sun Devils drove to the BYU 11 but were stopped on fourth down. With 2 minutes, 34 seconds left, BYU had a chance to win. On the drive’s sixth play, Jake Retzlaff overthrew Jojo Phillips on the left sideline, a play in which Phillips had beaten Robinson easily.
On the next play, Retzlaff tried Robinson again. This time Robinson picked him off and raced toward the end zone. On the Arizona State sideline, Dillingham ran with him, black headset in one hand, victory in the other. Robinson was brought down at the BYU 7, a return of 64 yards. Arizona State took over with 64 seconds left.
Ball game.
Not exactly.
Dillingham this season has been a master at clock management. In last week’s win at Kansas State, as the Sun Devils lined up to punt in the fourth quarter, he took three delay-of-game penalties, a Bill Belichick-like move that took more than a minute off the clock. Brilliant. Dillingham called this winning the margins, an effort to seize every opportunity.
This time, however, Dillingham may have over-thought the situation. After Skattebo rushed for four yards, the Sun Devils had the ball at the BYU 3. Instead of punching it in the end zone for a 34-23 lead (35-23 with the extra point), Leavitt ran backward on the next play, bleeding the clock, a loss of 26 yards. Arizona State took a loss of 10 on the next play.
The Sun Devils then took two delay-of-game penalties. On fourth-and-goal from the BYU 49, Leavitt dropped back and threw the ball as high as he could, hoping the clock would run out before the ball landed out of bounds. The ball appeared to leave Leavitt’s hand with five seconds left. When it landed, the stadium scoreboard read 0:00. Students stormed the field. Workers lowered the goal posts.
A message flashed on the scoreboard: “THE PREVIOUS PLAY IS UNDER REVIEW.” On the field, fans could not hear the PA announcer telling them to return. They kept coming, running past security. Watching the monitor, the officiating crew concluded that one second needed to be put back on the clock. Dillingham yelled, “THERE’S NO WAY! THERE’S NO WAY!”
Kenny Dillingham with his wife right next to him as the refs tell him there’s still 1 second on the clock.
“There’s no way. There’s no way.”@SunDevilSource pic.twitter.com/cq60kFF1ca
— Gabriella Chernoff (@gabbyjchernoff) November 24, 2024
Asked after the game why he didn’t just score the touchdown, Dillingham said that doing so would have given BYU a chance to score, recover an onside kick and then have a chance to win. (To do all that in 60 seconds would’ve required a miracle.) Dillingham added there were a lot of reps and stats behind what Arizona State tried to do. He declined to address the officials’ decision to add a second to the clock.
It didn’t matter. Retzlaff’s final desperation pass fell incomplete. The celebration resumed.
By Tuesday, this will be forgotten. It’s rivalry week. The Sun Devils are in position to reach the Big 12 Championship. In two seasons, Dillingham has proved himself a great coach. The best part for Arizona State fans: He’s going to get better.
(Photo of Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt celebrating with coach Kenny Dillingham: Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)
