The ASU offense's 30-23 win over Mississippi State presented a sharp contrast between the passing game and ground attack. As much as the Sun Devils pounded the pigskin at will, they essentially didn't inflict any damage in the air.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt’s stats certainly don’t jump off the page. In just his second-ever colligate start, Leavitt scored two rushing touchdowns and rushed for 68 yards, yet he completed 10-20 passes for just 69 yards. Nonetheless, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham was impressed with his calmness under pressure in situations despite his lack of cadence, an aspect that was naturally affected by the heavy reliance on the run game.
“He’s through two games, he has no turnovers, we have very limited procedure penalties, he’s getting us into good calls,” Dillingham said, “converted/extended three different third downs with his legs, then he missed a couple throws.
“Everybody wants to look at three or four misses. I can sleep really well at night if our quarterback is just missing a few throws. I can't sleep if he’s throwing to the wrong person if he’s turning the football over if he’s panicking when guys are aligned wrong, or when the running back goes the wrong way … he doesn’t do any of that.”
The 364 rushing yards more than compensated for the struggles of the aerial attack. It was an effort spearheaded by senior running back Cam Skattebo, who was named both the Associated Press’s and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week following a career-high 297 yards of total offense. His 262 rushing yards in the victory over the Bulldogs were ASU's second-highest mark in school history, and 93 yards on the ground in the fourth quarter cemented the Sun Devils’ one-score win.
“He’s a really tough kid; he puts in the work,” Dillingham commented. “I think he can handle that kind of workload this year, which he couldn’t last year because of the shape he put himself in to handle that. The way he runs, he punishes people.”
Dillingham understands the immense talent Skattebo possesses while emphasizing a team-oriented perspective to his star running backs award. Starting with the Pat Tilman Leadership Council and the core values it sets for the team.
“Whatever our best players allow is the standard, not what our best players say but what our best players do,” Dillingham explained. “I think not just [Skattebo] but our leadership council as a whole really took it upon themselves to change the culture and the standards.”
In the second half, ASU scored just three points while yielding 20 points, while Mississippi State scored a touchdown in three of its four second-half drives and had notable momentum down the stretch. Dillingham said in the preseason that he wanted to see how his team would handle adversity, and he undoubtedly got to witness that trait last Saturday, a contest that provided a valuable, and luckily not a costly lesson for Arizona State.
“I think the guys realized that you can’t get lax,” Dillingham remarked. “For how good we played, for the first 42 minutes of the game, it all got erased for 13 bad minutes. It’s a great reality check that you can dominate and play that great for almost the entire game; that right there was a wake-up call for both sides. If we ever get down like that, we’re not out of it; If we get a lead like that, we got to finish it; we got to put them away.
“The first seven quarters (in the 2024 season) of football have been our domination on our standpoint. We’re going to face a team that starts fast, and we’re going to have to be able to go back and forth throughout the flow of the game and control the emotions. That’s what I was proud of on Saturday was we eventually snapped out of it, and that’s the sign of a great football team.”
Similar to the highs that were exhibited, Dillingham gave credit to his leaders in pads for effectively recovering through the lows. As difficulty set in during the fourth quarter, when Mississippi State scored two touchdowns in eight minutes, he relied on his players to weather the storm and secure the victory.
“I didn’t say a word. I just told a couple of players, go get your team together, get them to snap out of it, and they did boom!” Dillingham described. “That’s a very good sign for a football team and the direction we’re going.”
The next step in ASU’s direction is a road trip to San Marcos, Texas, and a contest against a 2-0 Texas State squad. The matchup presents a formidable challenge, and the fact that it will take place just five days after the Mississippi State game, and on the road no less, means that the Sun Devils have much preparation ahead of them in a finite amount of time.
“You have to put in the work like the work has to get done whether you're on a short week or a long week,” Dillingham commented. I’m not saying the physical work; I'm saying the mental work like you're still going to play a game, so you have to put in the same amount of mental work you'd put in on a full week in a short week.
“We have to get to Thursday as fresh as possible.”
The Sun Devils have limited time to prepare for a dangerous opponent averaging 41 points scored and led by quarterback Jordan McCloud. The redshirt senior is on his fourth collegiate team, imprinting his quality along the way. Last season at James Madison, he loaded the stat sheet with 35 touchdowns and 3,657 yards.
The 24-year-old quarterback is on the opposite side of the college football veteran spectrum to Leavitt. When asked about dealing with an experienced quarterback like McCloud, Dillingham feels it will be difficult to disrupt his rhythm.
“He's efficient with the football,” Dillingham said. “He can extend plays and keeps his eyes downfield when he extends plays. He's got a quick release, super quick release, doesn't get hit very much because his release is fast, and he knows where we go to the ball; he's a seasoned vet in the game.
“I think for some guys, you can give so many pictures that it overwhelms them. Guys that haven't seen a lot of football, then other guys, you can't give they've seen so many pictures. It's easy. You have to give them the same one and give them different looks. So I think that's the challenge this week, is how can we not let him know what's happening, and we can't give things away.”
The Bobcats’ stout ground defense has been just as menacing through two game weeks, allowing just 133 yards rushing. As ASU comes off a game with clear ground domination, the battle of schemes will be on full display on Thursday. Understanding the attention to detail and energy the upcoming opponent possesses, Dillingham praises Texas State head coach G.J. Kinne for his team's passion.
“This is the best football team we played (in 2024). These guys play hard,” Dillingham stated. “They’re very physical. So kudos to him. He's one of the youngest head coaches in college football. I think he's put together an incredible football team. I think people should talk more about the job he's done.
“This is a football team that is a Power Four football team, in my opinion, like this team could go win a lot of games and compete in the Big 12 conference. And kudos to him, because he has really good players. He's recruited. They've bought into his culture, and they're playing hard, and you can see that in the run.”
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