- Slug: Sports–ASU Peach Bowl, 1,000 words.
- 3 photos available.
By Tucker L. Sennett
Cronkite News
ATLANTA – Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham doesn’t believe in moral victories.
“This should hurt and be painful,” he said Wednesday. “The locker room is dreadful right now and it should be. If it weren’t, something would be wrong.”
Classic. Blockbuster. All-timer. Those are the words that will be associated with the 2025 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between No. 4 Arizona State and No. 5 Texas. After a comeback for the ages, the Sun Devils couldn’t hang on and ultimately fell in double overtime 39-31, failing to reach the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Dillingham’s quote seems harsh but when read within the context of Arizona State’s season and the two-year tenure of Dillingham, it makes sense. The Sun Devils appeared out of thin air in 2024. They stormed to a Big 12 championship in their inaugural season as a member of the conference. But Dillingham has preached staying in the moment the entire way.
As his quarterback, redshirt freshman Sam Leavitt, and superstar running back Cam Skattebo sat next to him in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium pressroom fighting back tears, Dillingham changed his stance.
“At the same token now that this is over, I really am going to challenge our guys to reflect on where it all started because it really is remarkable,” Dillingham said.
Several moments could be the starting point. It could be August, when the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in their new conference. It could be 2023’s disastrous Territorial Cup loss, which ended a three-win season. Either way, what the Sun Devils achieved is remarkable
The game itself embodied everything Dillingham has instilled in his program. Chaos, explosive plays, no quit, excitement. However, it didn’t look like it would be that way early.
The Sun Devils, who were 13 ½-point underdogs at kickoff, limped through the first half, trailing 17-3 with a number of mishaps on special teams and missed opportunities throughout.
After the game, Cam Skattebo was asked how he’d describe the 2024 Arizona State team.
“Undeniable … I bet you nobody in this room thought we were going to even be close when we were down 17-3,” he said. “We believed what we had going was undeniable.”
The Sun Devils were undeniable in the third and fourth quarters. Defensive coordinator Brian Ward’s unit held the Longhorns to just seven points in the second half.
“We played four quarters and two overtimes and only ran 60 plays tonight,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “They did a good job with some of their movement.”
While the offense sputtered, the Sun Devils defense held Texas in check. Eventually, the levee broke (or Skattebo broke the levee himself) and ASU stormed back and stole the momentum.
The defense was literally one stop away from winning the game in overtime, but collapsed on an all-out blitz on 4th-and-13. They failed to get to Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who connected with wide receiver Matthew Golden to tie the game. They scored in two plays in double overtime and ASU was picked off.
A surprisingly even stadium from a fan support perspective was alive. At one point, every play produced a roar in the second half from the group clad in maroon and gold and the group in burnt orange.
The attendance helped prove a point that needed proving badly going into the game. Prognosticators and pundits clamored throughout the lead-up to the Peach Bowl, doubting the Sun Devils’ chances in the game.
“When you look at it, did we belong on the field?” Dillingham said. “I think a lot of people were questioning that and I don’t think any person questions if we belonged on that field.”
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark wandered the field with his entourage before the game, shaking hands with every Sun Devils face he could find. The game was personal for him in many ways, as Texas was one of the school that opted to exit the Big 12 and ruined some of the credibility of the conference in the eyes of many fans and analysts.
“All the doubters, we answered each and every one this week,” ASU defensive back Xavion Alford said. “We believed in each other when nobody else believed in us.”
He hit the lottery with the way the Peach Bowl played out. His conference champion hung in with one of the nation’s premier programs and likely the country’s best defensive unit. And with news of Dillingham’s contract extension coming late Tuesday night, the Sun Devils are likely here to stay.
“Coach Dillingham has got the longest future in coach history. I promise,” Skattebo said.
The future is bright for the Sun Devils football program. And Dillingham has the support of the administration, especially athletic director Graham Rossini.
“(Dillingham) has been very focused on people that add value to the culture that we want to build,” Rossini said. “That’s what we want in the leadership of all of our coaches and Kenny exemplifies that better than anybody.”
The culture under Dillingham is one that empowers players. That can be imperfect at times, as both he and his players had moments where a lapse of judgment hurt the team. But that passion was channeled into something no one imaginde going into the season. He also, in his own words, made the program feel like a family.
It is one of the reasons Leavitt announced on Instagram Wednesday night that he is returning for another season. “Love this team!! We’ll be back believe that.”
ASU center Leif Fautanu, a focal point and unsung hero for the Sun Devils in his two seasons under Dillingham, reflected on why the run was possible.
“A lot of people skip the in-between steps,” Fautanu said. “For us as a team and a coaching staff, we didn’t skip a step.”
The Sun Devils quite literally started at the bottom and while they didn’t finish at the top, they came closer than about 130 FBS programs did.
A common cliche in life is that it isn’t about destination, it’s about the journey. For ASU football, that seems like it’s the case.
And while calling the events of Wednesday’s defeat moral victories is a weak salve for the pain that comes with a loss like that, comfort can be found in the direction the program is headed.
Straight up.
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