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After officially winning the Big 12 Championship, Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham was feeling himself.
On paper, he had every right to feel that way, as his team, ranked one spot higher than Iowa State, beat the Cyclones dominantly by a score of 45-19 and are now locked to make it into the College Football Playoff for the first time ever. Factor in strong play by running back Cam Skattebo, and the Sun Devils look like certified contenders heading into a stacked field.
In Dillingham's opinion, that might actually be an understatement.
Discussing the playoffs after the win, Dillingham noted that not only does ASU deserve a spot, but they should actually get a first-round bye and should host a game as a result, too.
“Last year, they left a team out because of a quarterback,” Kenny Dillingham said via ESPN. “We're 11-1 with our starting quarterback, having beat four ranked teams, having won the Big 12 championship. So I do think because we've made a standard that the quarterback is that valuable, I think there should be a real chance that we get a first-round bye and I definitely think we should host a game.”
Will that happen? Will Arizona State jump a dozen or so spots and become a member of that top-4? Unlikely, but either way, Dillingham is proud of his team and knows that they can achieve anything they put their mind to.
“I think you can achieve anything here,” Dillingham said. “I've always thought that people have always said this place is a sleeping giant. Well, you're not a sleeping giant if you never wake up. You're a dead giant. And it just hasn't woken up for so long.”
Kenny Dillingham also has a hot take on Arizona State's RB, too
Not only does Dillingham believe ASU should be able to have a bye in the playoffs, but that his running back deserves a spot in the Heisman conversation, too, as he's just as good as Colorado's Travis Hunter and Boise State's Ashton Jeanty.
“Turn on the tape. I mean he's really good. He's good enough to be there,” Dillingham said. “I don't know what else you can do to put your name in the race. Obviously there's two other guys that are really, really high on that list, and I don't know if he should ever surpass those guys, but should he be on that list? Should he have the opportunity to go there? Yes.”
Skattebo, to his credit, also believes he deserves a spot in the conversation, even if, as had been his life story, he's used to being rejected.
“I've been disrespected my whole life,” Skattebo said. “I've always been the underdog and nobody respects the fact that I'm the best running back in the country and I'm going to stand on that. If people want to disrespect that, I'm going to keep going and I'm going to keep proving people wrong … Winning the Heisman or losing the Heisman, I should still be in that situation.”
Will ASU eventually get their flowers? Only time will tell, but if they put in work during the postseason, the program's respect will only grow into 2025.
