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The 2025 college football season is right around the corner, but conference media days getting underway this week really makes it feels like the new year is almost here. Big 12 Media Days got started on Tuesday, and much of the focus was on Kelly Dillingham and the Arizona State football team. The Sun Devils were one of the biggest surprises in college football last year as they won the Big 12 and made the College Football Playoff after being picked to finish last in the conference. Now, outside expectations are loud, but Arizona State isn't listening.
Kenny Dillingham made it perfectly clear on Tuesday that his team is not listening to the outside noise. Everyone expects Arizona State to be a CFP contender again this year, but the Sun Devils are just focused on constantly being the best version of themselves and getting better.
“Obviously, for us, you can't get focused on what people talk and say about you,” Dillingham said on Tuesday. “Everything's about work, and if you want to be good at something, you're going to have to work harder than other people. You're going to have to continue to work harder. So I think the key is, I got my two guys behind me, you can see them, the key is those guys back there. The key was those guys putting in the work to want to be the best version of themselves that they could possibly be and having fun doing it like you see right now, that's our program, that's our culture. It's two guys that are going to play on Sundays, having a ball, getting behind a camera, and just family and connectivity, and that's what our program is about.”
Arizona State clearly isn't worried about the outside expectations, but those expectations are still there. Not only are they coming from the college football media, but the expectations are also there in the fan base now. Last year, every win was an extra bonus after no one expected the Sun Devils to do anything. Now, if they miss the CFP, the fan base will be disappointed.
The Sun Devils did lose some good talent to the NFL, like running back Cam Skattebo for example, but they still seem poised for another big season. Returning starting quarterback Sam Leavitt is massive, and he has a lot of good weapons around him. Kenny Dillingham definitely has the talent on this Arizona State football team to become Big 12 champs again.
