In its first season in the Big 12, Arizona State football has been one of the big surprises of the 2024 college football season so far. Kenny Dillingham and company have shocked team after team, and the Sun Devils have already clinched bowl eligibility at 6-2.
This weekend is going to be a bit tougher for Arizona State as it prepares to take on UCF. Star running back Cam Skattebo will not play on Saturday after dealing with a shoulder injury during the week, according to Brandon Marcello of 247 Sports.
“Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo (shoulder) will not play Saturday against UCF, sources tell @CBSSports/@247Sports,” Marcello reported on X, formerly Twitter. “The nation's seventh-leading rusher is averaging 125.1 rushing yards per game.”
Skattebo is the heart and soul of this Arizona State team and is the engine for it on the offensive end. He currently has 1,001 rushing yards (good for seventh in the country) and 11 touchdowns on the ground for the season. He is also one of the top targets in the passing game for quarterback Sam Leavitt and is the Sun Devils' second-leading receiver with 404 yards and two touchdowns through the air.
Without Skattebo, Saturday will be an uphill battle for Arizona State on the offensive end. The good news is that UCF has been struggling mightily this season. The Knights' defense is subpar and they had lost five games in a row before winning against Arizona in Week 10.
Arizona State still in Big 12 title picture
The race for the Big 12 title is still wide open, and Arizona State is still in the mix with four games to go after being picked last in the conference's preseason media poll.
BYU is still in pole position in the race for the conference title, and the Cougars are now the only undefeated team left in the conference after Iowa State's loss in Week 10. Despite its unblemished record, BYU still couldn't climb higher than No. 9 in the first College Football Playoff rankings before Week 11.
The teams next in line are Iowa State and Colorado, who both only have one conference loss. Deion Sanders has Colorado playing some very good football and the Buffs have a pretty favorable schedule the rest of the way, so they have a real shot at making the conference title game.
After those two teams, there is a massive group of teams with two conference losses: Kansas State, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Arizona State and West Virginia. All of those teams have chances not only to knock off Iowa State and Colorado, but to insert themselves back into the race to Arlington for the Big 12 title game.
While Arizona State will be without Cam Skattebo in this one, it still is favored to knock off struggling UCF. After that, the schedule becomes very challenging, but it also gives Dillingham and the Sun Devils a few chances to separate themselves from the pack. They will face off against Kansas State on Nov. 16 before welcoming unbeaten BYU to Tempe.
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