Kenny Dillingham and his Arizona State Sun Devils have as many wins through 3 weeks of the 2024 season as they had throughout the entire 2023 campaign.
On Thursday night, the Sun Devils (3-0) fell down 21-7 to Texas State on the road before fighting back and eventually winning 31-28. But it wasn’t without some late controversy. Thinking they’d run out the clock with 4 consecutive kneel-downs, Arizona State players ran out onto the field to celebrate a victory before being called back to the sideline and told 1 second was being put back on the clock.
Texas State would get 1 play from its 30 to try and steal the game. That play ultimately ended up not mattering — the Bobcats fumbled the football as they tried to pass it around — but Dillingham was none too pleased.
“I’m only out here right now so I don’t get fined,” Dillingham told ESPN immediately after the game.
‘I’m only out here right now so I don’t get fined’ hahaha pic.twitter.com/t519dBBAVB
— Kyle Martin (@StrangersAstory) September 13, 2024
In the postgame, Dillingham was more reserved in his analysis of the game’s closing seconds. He said the comment to ESPN was intended as a joke.
“Obviously I was a little intense so people probably didn’t understand it was my sarcasm. Probably a little too much sarcasm at the end of the game. I just want to make sure people know that wasn’t a bash of anybody,” he told reporters. “We got the W, we should focus on the players.
“To be honest, it’s not the guys on the field’s fault. So in that situation, it goes to a replay room that’s outside of them. So I kind of feel bad for those refs. I thought those refs did an awesome job all game. I really did. … I’ll have to find out how that happened just for (future) situations because I thought for sure we could take 2 seconds and take a delayed knee.”
Setting aside the game’s closing seconds, Arizona State has plenty to be encouraged about exiting Week 3. The Sun Devils were outgained on the road in a game where they were without 8 members of their 2-deep and still left with a victory.
Tailback Cam Skattebo found the endzone twice and delivered a 9-yard run on third-and-8 with less than 2 minutes remaining that allowed ASU to kneel out (most of) the clock. Quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 246 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another 40 yards and a score in his first career road start. Wideout Jordyn Tyson caught 6 balls for 120 yards and a touchdown — his first 100-yard game since Nov. 5, 2022.
Arizona State now has wins over Wyoming, Mississippi State, and Texas State on the season. After going 3-9 in Dillingham’s first year in charge, the Sun Devils have some real momentum heading into their Big 12 opener. They face Texas Tech in Lubbock on Sept. 21.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
