Coach Dillingham and Cam Skattebo. Photo Credit: Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
The Valley of the Sun has been a success desert for football recently, best typified by the performance of the Arizona State Sun Devils. Two straight seasons of 3-9 records and sanctions left extremely little reason for hope, and the preseason expectations demonstrated that. Preseason polling had Coach Kenny Dillingham’s Sun Devils at the very bottom of the Big 12 conference.
The idea of a post-season was nothing more than a dream, something that even the biggest fan would laugh at. Any talk about playoffs and there would have been one perfect, universally understood response, famously delivered by former NFL coach Jim Mora: “Playoffs?!? I just hope we can win a game!”
Fast forward to December, and that fantastical dream that no one even considered as a possibility has somehow come to fruition, as the most Cinderella story in perhaps all of sports in America has another chapter in it. In Saturday’s Big 12 Championship game, the Sun Devils absolutely throttled the Iowa State Cyclones 45-19 in order to become the conference champions in their first year in the conference, and perhaps even more amazingly, securing a spot in the 12-team playoff bracket.
Sunday brought with it even more unbelievable news: not only would the Sun Devils be headed to the playoffs for the first time in their history, but due to the playoff committee considering them one of the four best conference winners (out of five), they have earned a bye week and will take on the winner of Clemson and Texas.
The score of the championship game was even a bit misleading as some late points by Iowa State made it appear closer than it really was. The path to victory was again carved by running back Cam Skattebo, who with an incredible performance to a national audience not only turned heads but also made a pitch to the Heisman award nominating committee and draft scouts. He ran for 170 yards, including a few jaw-dropping highlight reel runs, added 38 more yards through the air, and accounted for three total touchdowns.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt was the picture of efficiency, tossing for three touchdowns in only 17 dropbacks and avoiding any major mistakes. The game was still contested at the half, with the Sun Devils taking a 24-10 lead into the locker room, but turnovers on three consecutive drives in the 3rd quarter sunk the Cyclones and turned this game into a blowout for the Devils.
Unfortunately for us, the miracle season is on a slight pause; the next game for the Sun Devils won’t be until January 1st. Such a delay can often prove problematic as players get out of the rhythm of the season, become distracted and lose focus. That said, Coach Dillingham has already taught a masterclass in motivating his athletes and we have no reason to believe that he won’t maintain this for another month.
January 1st can’t come fast enough!!