What Kenny Dillingham said after Arizona State's win over Oklahoma State
Good things come to those who wait.
The Arizona State football team endured a nearly three-hour weather delay on Saturday before finishing off Oklahoma State 42-21 for their first Big 12 road victory — and their all-important sixth victory of the 2024 season. The game started just after 12:30 p.m. MST and finished just after 6:30 p.m.
In year two under Kenny Dillingham the Sun Devils are now bowl eligible for the first time since 2021. But they are far from done.
"This team got bowl eligible. This team has four games left. They're playing with house money now," Dillingham said after the game.
Chaos reigned in the Big 12 on Saturday, with both Iowa State and Kansas State suffering huge upsets. Arizona State (6-2, 3-2) now has a path to the Big 12 championship game — and a potential berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
But first the Sun Devils are going to celebrate their dominant performance in Stillwater, which was led by an offense that racked up 529 yards. Cam Skattebo had one of the best performances by a Power 4 running back this season, accumulating 274 yards from scrimmage and scoring three touchdowns.
In his return from a rib injury, quarterback Sam Leavitt carved up the Cowboys for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing.
Arizona State led 21-14 at halftime, but they remained in the locker room for nearly three hours because of lightning and torrential rain in the area. When they finally resumed the second half, they scored 21 unanswered points to put the game away early in the fourth quarter.
Here are the highlights of Dillingham's postgame press conference:
Dillingham on ASU being bowl eligible
"We never talk about stuff like this, but when you reach a milestone because of putting in the work everyday, you’ve got to cherish it, you’ve got to embrace it. ... Like I told the guys in the locker room, they have changed the culture of this program in 22 months. The leadership council, the guys who chose to be here, they took a program and they completely flipped it from where it was. It has nothing to do with the staff. It has nothing to do with the coaches. It has to do with the guys in that locker room, and they've just done such an unbelievable job with the work ethic, with the mindset, with the belief ... kudos to those guys. They're special young men in there, and they deserve a sellout next week [vs. UCF]."
Dillingham on the long weather delay
"I wish I could say I did something magical. I didn't talk to the guys for like an hour and a half. I mean, we just got away from them. We said, 'Relax, lay down. Take a nap. Do what you've got to do.' We got them some food, and we got away from them.
"The coaches kind of put together a second half game plan based off of the film when we were watching film in there, but it's those guys. ... These guys love football. These guys love it. ... They're in there laughing for an hour and a half. Like, what can you guys be laughing about for an hour and a half? I don't have enough funny things to say, and that's just the group that we've brought together ... they're just really special kids."
Dillingham on ASU's culture
"This team got bowl eligible. This team has four games left. They're playing with house money now. ... And the best part about it is 34-35 of the top 40 guys have an opportunity to return. And that's just laying the foundation of where this program is going, and this is a place that I think recruits and people will want to be a part of."
Dillingham on Sam Leavitt's performance
"He balled out. I mean, he balled out. 20-of-29, 304 yards, three touchdowns and one of the craziest little scrambles. I've coached some athletic quarterbacks in my career, between Bo [Nix] and Jordan [Travis], and that was one of the most impressive plays I've seen, breaking three tackles. He didn't get a first down, but he got us in a situation to go for a fourth down."
Here's the scramble Dillingham is talking about, from Justin LaCertosa:
Who knew Sam Leavitt had moves like this? 🕺@DevilsDigest pic.twitter.com/n0wBczbfWa
— Justin LaCertosa (@LaCertosaSports) November 2, 2024
Dillingham on Cam Skattebo's leadership
"Skatt is Skatt. Nobody can be Skatt from a human perspective or a player perspective."
Dillingham on selling out ASU's home games
"These guys deserve an unbelievable crowd this next week [vs. UCF], and then BYU at home. They deserve it. They've earned the right to take that field with a sold out crowd. Just my opinion."
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.