Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham described the Big 12's mantra as “Can you believe that score?” Parity is a staple of the new conference ASU has joined, and on Friday night, they were ultimately just one of many examples in this 2024 season of a Big 12 squad defined by low preseason expectations.
The Big 12 media poll was bookended by Utah to finish first and ASU as the cellar dweller. But when the two teams met in Tempe on Friday night, it ultimately ended in yet one more upset win in the league. Arizona State (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) outlasted Utah (4-2, 1-2) 27-19, and are now just one win away from bowl eligibility following back-to-back 3-9 campaigns.
“That’s what college sports is about,” Dillingham said. “You go to a school to remember moments like this. Yeah, you get your education and go into the real world, but you also remember moments like this. That’s the fun part about college football, is you get to create memories not just for your team, but for 80,000 fans.”
Redshirt senior linebacker Caleb McCullough stepped into the spotlight in the first half after a targeting penalty last week kept junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliot out for the beginning of the game, and he instantly made an impact with an interception in the red zone. McCullough is the model of what kind of players Dillingham wants on the team, as he stuck through some of the toughest times in ASU football history.
“That’s a guy that was here through all the mess,” Dillingham mentioned. “He was here through all the bad things, and then I show up and we go 3-9 and suck. I keep telling him, ‘Just stay,’ and he’s one of the few people that stayed. For him to make that play is awesome. Caleb is the definition of what this team is, continuing to fight and not getting rattled.”
Even when Elliot returned in the second half, McCullough kept his foot on the gas pedal. He finished the game with a team-leading 12 tackles and sealed the game with an interception on Utah’s final drive. McCullough is a rare breed in today’s college football world, choosing to stay at the same college for his entire career rather than entering the transfer portal. McCullough battled his way through adversity and took advantage of the opportunity when his name was called upon.
“Caleb is one of my favorite kids on the team,” Dillingham admitted. “He does everything you ask him to do. He’s in the best shape of his life right now, he’s bigger and faster than he’s ever been, and he’s playing his best football. He persevered through it all, and he kept fighting. For him to make that play was unbelievable for him and a great lesson for him and people that when his time came, he got the job done.”
“I put in a lot of work to get to this position,” McCullough mentioned. “I tell my family that one day, I’m going to get my opportunity. When you do get that opportunity, the work you put in is going to show, and tonight it showed.
“I feel like this is one of the deepest linebacker groups I’ve been a part of. We come in every day and don’t get comfortable because you know a guy could start over you at any point. Every day, we came into work, and now it’s finally showing. Coach Coop (linebackers coach AJ Cooper) does a good job keeping us uncomfortable, and he does that every week.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt once again proved he can perform under the bright lights, finishing with 154 passing yards and a touchdown. He also rushed for 28 yards, all coming in the first half, as he battled injury in the second half.
Leavitt scrambled as the Sun Devils were driving down the field and was hit in the midsection by a Utah defender. He lay on the ground, struggling to catch his breath, and came off for the remainder of the drive and the next series. As he walked to the sideline, he pumped up his team, and his backup, senior Jeff Sims punched the ball into the end zone just a couple of plays later.
“I wasn’t too worried about the pain; I was just sad I couldn’t put on for the team,” Leavitt recalled. “I told them to put the ball into the end zone. I won’t get into the specifics, but I was just trying to get our team rallied up and let them know I wasn’t going down; I’m going to come back and fight.”
Senior running back Cam Skattebo performed time and time again in the game, putting one of the nails in the coffin with a 47-yard touchdown run in the dying minutes of the fourth quarter to put ASU up 27-19. Skattebo finished with 159 rushing yards with two touchdowns and added 41 receiving yards on four catches.
He proved to be extremely difficult for the Utes to bring down, a foe he is familiar with. Skattebo vividly remembers last year’s 55-3 loss to Utah, but the team that is put together this year has a sense of unity that wasn’t evident last year.
“This is a different football team,” Skattebo remarked. “We had different guys on the field. We have guys that are playing together every snap and guys that trust each other. We’ve got our fire back since Texas Tech, and guys are playing for each other. I love it.”
Heading into the bye week after Texas Tech, the Sun Devils struggled with their red zone efficiency on defense. Dillingham and the coaches honed in on what went wrong and immediately began to tweak the defense to fix it. This game highlighted exactly what Dillingham harped on, as Utah scored a touchdown just once in its four trips to the red zone, turning the ball over once and kicking two field goals.
Utah is known to be a sound team that rarely makes mistakes, and Dillingham knew heading into the game the little things were where ASU needed to win. One of the biggest aspects was the time of possession, as Utah tends to slow the game down. Although the Sun Devils lost the battle, they still managed to only allow Utah to hold the ball for five more minutes than they did.
“Our defense played really well,” Dillingham noted. “They forced turnovers and played really well in the red zone. If you want to beat Utah, you have to win the margins. They shorten the game and get you frustrated on the sideline as an offense. We won the margins when it came to the low red zone, and that was the difference in the game. That was an Achilles heel for us going into the bye week, and we emphasized it.”
ASU was without two of its key leaders, Elliot and junior defensive lineman Clayton Smith, to begin the game, as they both received targeting penalties in the second half of last week’s game that forced them to sit out the first half of Friday’s game. The rushing defense was sound, allowing just 59 first-half rushing yards.
Dillingham believes in yielding power to the players and holding each other accountable. The leaders are the ones who work the hardest and set the level of effort every player should put in. This impacts not only this team but the players who come after them as well, as younger players on the team will continue to set that precedent for years to come.
“I don’t even give pregame speeches,” Dillingham stated. “Our guys give the pregame speeches. It’s not about the coach; it’s about these guys. Those leaders do a phenomenal job setting the tone. With those guys, I think they’re setting the standard high, and hopefully, they’re setting the standard for our young guys in the program, so this becomes the standard.”
The Sun Devils still have aspects of the game they’d like to improve, especially penalties. They have six penalties for 37 yards, highlighted by an unnecessary roughness penalty on junior safety Myles Rowser for punching a player while attempting to force a fumble. Dillingham prefers someone with that type of fire compared to a player who doesn’t have enough of it and is more confident in the ability to coach that down than up.
“I’d rather teach a dog who bites and put him back in the cage,” Dillingham voiced. “If we get physical penalties, we’re going to coach that and try to get it down. The reason we’re winning football games is because we’re playing hard. I want guys who bite, not bark.”
The 2023 season saw ASU lose 55-3 in embarrassing fashion to Utah, where the Sun Devils were outplayed in every aspect of the game. Now, with a revamped roster and attitude, Dillingham came back to give ASU a statement win in its season thus far. The buy-in of the players has been harped on by Dillingham, who sees the effort in this team compared to last year.
Obviously, this year's added depth aided in their ability to practice harder, but the work the players put in day in and day out came to fruition in a game where both teams had a plethora of talent.
“Last year’s Utah game was interesting, to say the least,” Dillingham added. “It was not fun one bit, but it’s a testament to our guys. You can’t shortcut the work. There’s not a secret formula to having success, it’s if you care about achieving something you have to put in the work. Our guys have done that from winter to spring to summer, and it’s all about the work.”
The Big 12 has been nothing short of chaotic. Every week, teams that are expected to be powerhouses are taken down, and it seems as if every team has a chance to win each game they play. There are no clear-cut favorites in this league now, six weeks into the season, and it’s anyone’s conference to win. For the Sun Devils, they’ve firmly put their foot in the door and show no signs of stopping.
“There are no upsets in this league,” Dillingham uttered. “I think the average spread this week was 3.5. Every day is a dogfight, and it’s all about the teams who can flush it mentally and get right back to the same thing. The main thing is your thing, and just doing it again and again. That’s the challenge, and that’s going to be the message.”
For the fourth time this year, the student section showed out for ASU, as the Sun Devils are now 4-0 at home. With a hockey game just hours before kickoff and the game on a Friday, there was speculation the stadium wouldn’t be as rocking as in previous weeks.
The fans quickly shut down that narrative, bringing the noise for all 60 minutes. There were times especially late in the game when it rattled Utah, and it took a delay of game penalty on its final drive that eventually resulted in the game-sealing interception.
“We have one of the best student sections in college football,” Dillingham mentioned. “We have one of the biggest universities in college football, and that’s our power. The amount of people that should be invested in this place is our greatest strength. We have to reconnect everyone who once had a connection here because the power in this school and city is numbers. If we unite, this can be one of the best environments in college football.”
Join your fellow Sun Devil fans on our premium message board, the Devils’ Huddle, run by the longest-tenured Sun Devil sports beat writer, to discuss this article and other ASU football, basketball, and recruiting topics. Not a member yet? Sign up today and get your daily fix of Sun Devil news!
