With the clock ticking closer to kickoff in the 57th edition of the Peach Bowl, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham and his players have projected themselves with additional confidence compared to the beginning of the 2024 season. Show-stopping running back Cam Skattebo, who began his collegiate career at Sacramento State, has become a household name in college football for his powerful running style and incredible statistics, leading the ASU offense to its 11-2 season record and its inaugural College Football Playoff appearance.
Additionally, Sun Devil quarterback Sam Leavitt, a wide-eyed redshirt freshman who transferred from Michigan State, where he made just 15 completions in four games, has arisen to the upper echelon of signal-callers statistically in the 2024 season. As the second-most efficient quarterback in the Big 12, Leavitt popped his collar when claiming he’ll prove “Why I’m the best quarterback in this game,” implying superiority over Texas quarterback junior Quinn Ewers.
For Dillingham, the confidence shown by two of his marquee players is a testament to the program's dark-horse mentality, a mindset that’s propelled them to the unanticipated heights reached in 2024.
“I think our players are just being themselves,” Dillingham said. “I think a lot of times there's a lot of how are you supposed to talk to the media, what are you supposed to say, and I just firmly believe in saying what you believe. And I'm not going to try to prevent our players from saying what they believe.
“I mean, Sam probably thinks he could beat Michael Jordan in basketball. I mean, that’s Sam, right? Skatt thinks he’s probably the greatest running back of all time because that’s Skatt. And I think that’s what makes him unique. And sometimes when you verbalize those things, just what you internally believe, it gets twisted in a negative light. But I’m just happy that we have those guys on our team because they’re ultra competitors, and I have their back.”
From Dillingham’s perspective, his belief in ASU derives from the program's reconstruction during his tenure. Coming into the 2024 campaign following a 3-9 record in year one, it became imperative for Dillingham and his staff to have trust in what was being built in Tempe. A foreshadowing point of view akin to his players' attitudes ahead of the Peach Bowl.
“I’d say you have to have a belief in what you’re doing,” Dillingham said. “And I know for me that was always, and for us as a program, that was always—the vision and the plan was, you know, it may not look good now, but if you stay the course and you stay the course and you stay true to the principles that you believe in and what a successful program looks like, eventually you’ll turn the corner. I think that’s where we’re at, we’re still trying to get better every single day, but at the same time, I think us staying the course has definitely helped us get to where we are right now.”
Don’t anticipate a mentality switch at ASU anytime soon. It’ll come into the New Year’s Day game 12.5-point underdogs, the worst odds of any quarterfinal game in the College Football Playoff.
“We're facing a team that was picked to win the National Championship preseason by a lot of people,” Dillingham noted. “If you don’t have that belief that you can win the football game if you don’t go that you believe you can match up, then you have no chance.
“For us, I always talk about, you know, if you're confident versus cocky, it goes in your preparation. If your confidence in yourself starts having you prepare less than you have prepared, well, be prepared to be humbled because now you're letting it affect you.”
The Longhorns enter the contest heavily favored for a clear reason. In their first year in the Southeastern Conference, they dominated the regular season, marching through their competition to finish with a 7-1 conference record, narrowly losing in the SEC Championship game to Georgia, 22-19 in overtime.
In his fourth season as Texas head coach, Steve Sarkisian faced a similar path to Dillingham’s, struggling to compete at a high level in the early stages of his tenure, finishing 5-7 in year one. In years three and four, Sarkisian led the team to consecutive 12-win seasons, dominating competition in the Big 12 along with the SEC, as ASU is the next team stepping up to the plate with uber confidence.
“We're going to face one of the best teams in the country, if not the best team in the country,” Dillingham said. “Coached by arguably the best offensive coach in the country sitting next to me. And it's a really tall task for our guys, but at the same token, if you're a competitor, you want to compete versus the very best in the best environments, and I think that's exactly what we get to do here tomorrow is compete versus the very best in the Peach Bowl, which is one of the best environments. So we're excited as a football team. We're excited as a football program.”
With less than 24 hours until the players jog onto the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on New Year’s Day, it's imperative for the Sun Devils that they capitalize on the balance of appreciating this stanza in their football journeys while, of course, preventing the external moment from becoming overbearing to their performance between the lines.
“I mean, for us, we gotta enjoy the moments throughout the process. You gotta take it all in, but you also gotta be able to get rid of those moments. So we gotta enjoy the moment of being at the Peach Bowl and being welcomed and the guys enjoying the event they put on last night for us and then get back to work. We gotta enjoy the game. And if you win, you know, enjoy it. Then you gotta get back to work. But I think that's no different than a normal regular season when you're playing really good teams. Now you're just doing it in bigger stakes; you're doing it at a playoff. But you still have to appreciate the fact that you're playing in one of the most iconic games in the history of college football, and you gotta appreciate that and take that for what it's worth. You've gotta enjoy that moment and be able to move on from that moment when that moment ends and restart yourself.
With Texas currently a 13-point favorite, all eyes are on them to perform after they were the only team from last year’s playoff to return. The Longhorns have only lost to one team, Georgia, once in the regular season and once in the SEC championship, which will be played in the same building where they’ll play ASU. The Sun Devils are winners of six straight heading into this game, catching fire at just the right time.
“It feels like we’ve been staying the course as the season has gone on,” Sarkisian said. “ I’ve got a ton of respect for Coach Dillingham and the job he’s done at Arizona State, the way they have continually improved throughout the season. The last couple of months they’ve been playing as good as anybody in the country.”
Junior Quinn Ewers will start in the Peach Bowl game, as an ankle injury has limited him in the back half of the season. Redshirt freshman Arch Manning has played in nine games this year, starting two of them when Ewers was out. The two-headed monster under center has grown exponentially in terms of chemistry, and Sarkisian credited this to Ewers’ veteran presence and leadership.
“I think his true leadership showed up when he was out, and Arch was starting,” Sarkisian recalled. “He gave Arch support and was with him all week long and on the sideline to help him play the best he could. To me, that was the real leader in Quinn coming out.”
Outside of the Longhorns' 38-24 victory over Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff, the past month has seen them struggle offensively. The most points Texas scored outside of Austin since conference play began was 27 at Vanderbilt, as the offense on the road and at neutral site games has been able to put together solid drives, but that hasn’t resulted in points on the board as much as Sarkisian has hoped.
“For us, it’s about finishing drives,” Sarkisian explained. “When we get into the red area of putting the ball into the end zone, it’s one thing to have a bunch of yards and explosive plays, but you need points to win. That’s going to be the challenge in this game no differently, but I think we’ll find some balance there.”
Both teams boast a tight end making all-conference teams with senior Gunnar Helm making the first team with 688 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Helm is utilized in both the run and pass game with his 6 '5 and 250-pound frame, as he’s been a key player on the edge of the offensive line that has helped Texas accumulate 2,429 rushing yards.
“After the quarterback in our system, the tight end is probably the most important position,” Sarkisian admitted. “From a formational, blocking, and route tree standpoint, the multiplicity of things the tight end has to do in our systems make him extremely valuable. When you have a good one, I think that makes our lives a lot easier from a play-caller perspective.”
According to Sarkisian, junior receiver Isaiah Bond and junior offensive lineman Cameron Williams will both be game-time decisions. Bond missed the first-round game against Clemson and, if cleared for the Peach Bowl, will be a major addition to an already potent offense.
“They’ve both been practicing and improving,” Sarkisian announced. “To some degree, it’s how you feel on game day when the adrenaline really kicks in. What does it feel like for a competitor? And then we gotta make really good decisions with those guys if they play and how much and to what degree.”
Sarkisian has been involved in college football for 24 years and has countless experiences, from being mentored by Pete Carroll at USC to coaching under Nick Saban at Alabama for two years. When it comes to coaching young players to become not only successful players but successful people, Sarkisian is a coach who has decades of experience and lessons to share with his players and staff.
“As a coach, our job is to build confidence in our players,” Sarkisian mentioned. “Whether that’s through the physical ability or the mental and emotional approach. You have to continue to build that confidence through their preparation week to week and through their execution. Constructive criticism is really important so that we can continue to build and get better because change is inevitable.”
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