ARLINGTON, Tex. - Your move College Football Playoff Committee. That’s the message sent on a direct path from Arlington Texas, as a program once drowned out amongst the spectacle of a 16-team Big 12 conference arose to the Mountain top where the sky is the limit. The underdog bubble has finally popped for Arizona State (11-2) from its last-place projection in the Big 12 media poll released in July. The autumn months of college football had seen ASU exponentially gain traction, as wins piled up and the program climbed the standings latter, it seemed every more possible that the Maroon and Gold were fighting for more than just an average campaign. Yet the idea that the Sun Devils had the potential to come out on top was inconceivable.
-Except for the Sun Devils in the locker room
“To come out and finish it off like that to continue pressing and twisting to not be done, it shows we're here to work,” ASU Defensive back Xavion Alford said. “We'll be here regardless of who believes in us, each and every week, each and every day. We love being the underdog. We love when we see that on the media. We feel like we're in our place. Coming in here, it's a blessing to be on this team with these guys.”
For the first time since 1996, the Sun Devils call themselves outright conference Champions. In the inaugural season of the Big 12 Conference, they defeated Iowa State (10-3) 45-19 in dominating fashion. On both sides of the ball, they were far and away the superior side, resembling anything but an underdog script.
“I've always thought that," said ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham. "People have always said this place is a sleeping giant. Well, you're not a sleeping giant if you never wake up. You're a dead giant, right? It just hasn't woken up for so long. Finally, I think these guys have bought into not just Arizona State, but to the city, to the community. They're over here talking about the weather the other day. It's like they've bought into everything that the Valley, Tempe, Arizona State has to offer. That's what's special is these guys are members of the people. Like they love it there, and I think that's special.”
Where would ASU be without senior running back Cam Skattebo? The ASU offense generated big play after big play on Saturday, many of which flowed through Skattebo’s dominance. The senior rushed for 170 yards, averaging 10.6 yards per carry on his way to scoring two touchdowns on the ground. He made his mark in the passing game as well, receiving a backfield pass and maneuvering his way 33 yards into the endzone for three touchdowns on the day.
Skattebo dusted off his trophy case on Saturday to hold him over taking home the Most Outstanding Player award, He shook feathers and reignited conversations preforming the ‘Heisman Pose’ after his trips to the end zone suggesting his case for the award on a national stage. His 2,074 all-purpose yards in 2024 is an ASU record, passing Eno Benjamin, who set the record in 2018. He tied records in the Sun Devil rafters. Woody Green’s 52-year-old record for single-season rushing touchdowns, along with Wilford Whites's 74-year-old record for total touchdowns, set in an ASU season at 22. For Skattebo, his claims on the field are being heard around the nation, and if you asked him, that’s how it should be.
“I've been disrespected my whole life,” Skattebo said. “I've always been the underdog. Nobody respects the fact that I'm the best running back in the country. I'm going to stand on that. If people want to disrespect that, I'm going to keep going and proving people wrong. Whatever NFL team takes me is going to get a gem. I'll give everything I've got for them. Whether winning or losing the Heisman, I should still be in that situation.”
The rest of the offense was firing on all cylinders off the back of Skattebo’s play. Despite missing wide receiver one, redshirt sophomore Jordyn Tyson, redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt finished 12-17 for 219 yards and three touchdowns. Leavitt’s synchronized relationship with Offensive Coordinator Marcus Arroyo is unwavering, as the first-year starter made the correct play time and again against the Cyclones.
“It's trust. We play with Sam every day,” Senior wideout Xavier Guillory said. “We have trust that one man goes down, we feel confident the next guy will step up. Melquan had some great plays today. From top to bottom, I was proud of how everybody reacted to the pressure situation. Big 12 Championship, nobody tucked their tail. We all stepped up to the challenge. I'm proud of how everybody reacted.”
In Tyson’s absence, the offense looked toward a heap of players, including Guillory, who’d scored in consecutive games against BYU and Arizona leading up to Saturday. Despite having just one game with more than two receptions in 2024, the experienced Guillory stepped up, making four grabs for 29 yards, including two second-half touchdowns, to outstretch the lead.
Leavitt and the offense continued to make big plays in both halves to pierce through Iowa State, earning 12 Big plays, rushing plays 10+ yards, and passing plays 15+ yards. Leavitt made five big passing plays to four targets, including graduate Melquan Stovall and Senior Malik McClain, who hasn’t played since September due to his play to redshirt. His first and only catch of the 2024 season was a 43-yard reception where he stretched out for a diving catch.
“A whole bunch of people stepped up,” Dillingham said. “That's the best part about tonight on offense was not just one person stepped up. (Guillory) stepped up, Stovall stepped up. The O-line. Sam Leavitt is an unbelievable football player. Chamon Metayer stepped up. I could go on a list of offensive players.
The defense wins championships, which certainly held strong for ASU on Saturday. En route to a dominating second half, the Maroon and Gold forced three third-quarter turnovers and didn’t allow Iowa State to score for nearly 32 minutes.
The secondary was lights out, restricting both of the Cyclones' 1,000-yard receivers, seniors Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, to a combined 12 receptions for 179 yards. The defense impacted the game on all levels and aided in all three turnovers. Graduate Shamari Simmons and junior Javan Robinson each forced fumbles recovered by ASU, and sophomore Keith Abney II picked off Cyclone quarterback Rocco Becht in the third quarter as well.
“Javan getting the tackle, Keith with the interception, Shamari coming in for a fumble, coming down and making tackles. We're one of the best secondaries in the country from top to bottom. We challenged each other throughout the summer. I challenged them myself. Sometimes it was uncomfortable,” Alford said.
“DBs, you gotta be tight. We're like brothers. It's just us five out there. Each and every ball that's thrown behind the linebackers and D-line that's on us. We step up to the challenge every week. Two 1,000-yard receivers, we'll step up to the challenge every week. Don't matter who we play, which logo. We've got the best secondary in the country.”
Dillingham and the program have fast-tracked a process that usually takes a multitude of seasons for schools. They turned a three-win 2023 campaign into a 10-win 2024 season while taking a conference championship trophy back to Mountain America Stadium. The changes didn’t come from nowhere, however, as the influx of 60 newcomers, the ninth most in the FBS, has turned the tide of ASU in unbelievable fashion.
“No, to be honest,” Dillingham said when asked if he expect this quick of a turnaround. “We just got two really good players. That helps. He's got way more belief than I do. Like I said, these guys are good.
It wasn’t straight shooting for ASU with its extensive batch of newcomers. The team had its struggles in the offseason as a heap of players fresh off months of frustration saw flared tempers spill over into spring ball, yet laboring through difficult conversations ended in resilience when the year began.
“There was a time where it was very negative from last year to this year, and for some reason, there was a switch that flickered, and we hit that switch, and it's been different ever since,” Skattebo said. “I couldn't tell you the exact date, but there was a time where it wasn't going to go like this, and then a day later it was. And ever since that day, this team has been nothing but on the forward trajectory, and I respect that because everybody's pushing each other, and there's no negativity.”
The Sun Devils officially punched their ticket to the college football playoff as the Big 12 representative. Configuring a proper bracket has stuffed national headlines with no clear objective system to rank which teams belong and where they are placed in the format. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has been vocal in his disgruntled feelings toward the College Football Playoff Committee, saying, “Don’t look at logos. Look at resumes.” With four conference champions being granted an automatic first round bye-with the fifth ranked champion being placed amongst the seven outright bids, Dillingham feels his team did more than enough to earn its place in a New Years showdown.
Putting pressure on the committee, Dillingham noted ASU’s loss to Cincinnati in October because Leavitt wasn’t active due to a rib injury. He mentioned this in relation to Florida State missing then-starter Jordan Travis. The Seminoles missed the college football playoff despite being undefeated and ACC champions. Many believe this had to do with Travis being out, and Dillingham made it clear what ASU has done with Leavitt being in.
“In the judging last year, they left a team out because of a quarterback. We're 11-1, with our starting quarterback having beat four ranked teams and having won the Big 12 Championship,” Dillingham said. “So, I do think because we've made a standard that the quarterback is that valuable, I think there should be a real chance we get a first-round bye. I definitely think we should host a game.
ASU has done all it can, winning the Big 12 title and demolishing its competition, collecting its fourth-ranked win of the season. Confirming their reputation as the indisputable cream of the crop in the conference, their seeding amongst the rest is wide open. For all of the Sun Devil faithful, it’ll be a stressful time pleading their case for Maroon and Gold superiority, but inside the locker room, the players and coaches will continue relishing in the moment and proving their ability on the field.
“It just shows what we can be. With the right direction, with the right players who are committed to the program and committed to work, I think you can achieve anything here,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said.
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