Three takeaways from ASU football’s monumental 27-19 win over Utah

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State football had a chance to show the nation what is brewing in Tempe Friday night, and it did just that. Head coach Kenny Dillingham is building something special at ASU.

The Sun Devils went 3-9 last season and lost 55-3 to Utah. Friday night, ASU picked up its fifth win, with a 27-19 victory over Utah, and received votes this week for the AP top 25 rankings.

“We were picked to win four games this year, so a lot of Sun Devil fans obviously picked the over in Vegas, right? For those of you guys who won, put that money back into the collective,” Dillingham said. “Because you get to celebrate these wins, you get to have another cold one with your friends, you get to have great Saturday nights. That should be enough.”

This is a glimpse of the guy who’s bringing ASU football back to life. He’s a goofy guy who knows football, loves the kids he coaches, and loves his hometown.

Friday night’s win

Utah started the game fast with an opening drive field goal. The Utes picked off redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt on ASU’s first drive, and Utah added another field goal.

Then ASU got things going and never looked back. The Sun Devils drove down for touchdowns on their next two drives. Utah got a field goal at the end of the half, and ASU went into halftime leading 13-9.

Utah struck first in the second half and took a 16-13 lead. But senior running back Cam Skattebo responded with a 50-yard touchdown run. ASU led 20-16 at that point and later added another touchdown thanks to their workhorse back.

Redshirt senior linebacker Caleb McCullough sealed the game with his second interception of the night, ending any hope Utah had. Here are three takeaways from the Sun Devils unforgettable night.

Caleb McCullough anchored a lights-out defense

ASU’s defense was the backbone of the team Friday night. Anytime the offense struggled or gave Utah a short field, the defense stood strong.

“The defensive performance was just unbelievable the way they stepped up, specifically in the first half in the running game,” Dillingham said. “We held them to, I believe, 3.6 yards per carry, other than the one 20-yard run that they had, which is unbelievable.”

The Sun Devils held the Utes to 51 first-half rush yards on 14 carries. Utah was on pace for only 102 rush yards. The Utes came into the game averaging 172.8 rush yards per game.

ASU held Utah to just a single touchdown, forced three turnovers and accumulated four tackles for loss, two of which were sacks. Caleb McCullough was at the center of that defensive performance.

McCullough started Friday night’s game because junior linebacker Keyshaun Elliott was suspended for the first half for targeting. The senior linebacker went on to have the best game of his career. He tallied 12 tackles, 1.5 TFLs, and two interceptions.

“He just does everything you ask over and over and over again. He’s playing better football than he’s ever played. Talk about a guy who just persevered, persevered, persevered through it all,” Dillingham said. “He was here for the lowest of the lows, and he kept fighting. He didn’t leave; he kept fighting, and his time came.”

The winning culture is here

If you weren’t convinced while watching Dillingham’s postgame interview on ESPN, just listen to the way he talks about this team and the way his players talk about each other. He’s switched the culture of the locker room to caring about one another and wanting to win.

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“I love those guys, and I trust them with everything they got. I trust that they’re going to give it to me,” Skattebo said. “We have guys that are playing together every snap. We got guys that trust me, trust the defense, trust Sam (Leavitt), trust the (offensive) line. Everybody trusts each other. It’s incredible. Guys are playing for each other, and it’s a whole different football team than it was last year.”

ASU was picked to finish last in the Big 12 this season, and Utah was picked to finish first. The Sun Devils sit at No. 5 in the Big 12, with their lone loss to Texas Tech. Texas Tech is tied with BYU and Iowa State atop the conference. The Cougars and Cyclones are ranked No. 13 and No. 9 in the nation, respectively.

The Sun Devils are one win away from becoming bowl-eligible. At the start of the season, that feat seemed to be the ceiling of this team. Now, there’s a belief this team can beat anyone in the Big 12. The average line across all Big 12 games this week was less than a four-point spread. In the conference matchups, underdogs won two of the four games. The conference is wide open and up for the taking.

“Those leaders do a phenomenal job setting the tone. We’re only going to be a team as good as our leadership, as good as how hard our best players play,” Dillingham said. “If you think you’re a leader, then you have to play harder than everybody else because you’re now the standard. With great power comes great responsibility. With those guys, I think they’re setting the standard high and hopefully, they’re setting the standard for the young guys in our program.”

Since he took over at ASU, Dillingham has talked about a tough, physical team standard modeled after Utah. Last year, The Sun Devils were obliterated 55-3, and a year later they came out on top 27-19. Now, Dillingham is focused on consistency.

“I would love to say that this one win puts us on that level, and gives us that consistency, but it doesn’t. It just shows that we’re in the right direction. Shows that we’re trending in the right direction,” Dillingham said. “It shows what we’re doing is working. It takes an entire organization in order to build what they’ve built.”

Dillingham said the new leadership has committed to investing in the program. He’ll have the support and funds to invest in the team’s strength, recruiting, and coaching.

“They’ve made guarantees to me that they’re going to invest to make this one of the best programs in the country, and I think we have one of the best staffs in the country,” Dillingham said. “So, I’m excited to try to create some continuity here.”

ASU’s work ethic is at an all-time level high

All but one of ASU’s games have been one-score games this season. The Sun Devils have been considerably better in the fourth quarter this season. Dillingham accredited that to the intensity level of practices.

“People think we’re crazy because we put up 570 workloads week six, and we’re putting up back-to-back 570 workloads on a Tuesday, Wednesday practice on week five last week,” Dillingham said. “But then in the fourth quarter of two games, right? We find a way, and that’s kudos to the guys for believing in the work.”

ASU has outscored opponents by 14 points in the fourth quarter across the last four games. The Sun Devils have had two game-winning drives, and in last night’s case, a touchdown drive in the final minutes of the game to put the game away. Their ability to stay fresh and have the endurance to play hard for all four quarters is a testament to the practice intensity and much difference from last season.

“Last year, a great day was about 510, 520. The average when we got into the Tuesdays midseason were about low fours cause we lost so many guys,” Dillingham said.

The difference in the practice workload is about 25 percent, which is a quarter of football.

Dillingham went on to explain that is how college football powerhouses like Georgia, Alabama, and Oregon practice. Now that the Sun Devils have the depth to practice to that level, he’s able to build the toughness needed to do so and practice like the best teams in the country.

“The fact that on a short week, six days of rest, versus a team that’s on a bye who gets their starting quarterback back, where we don’t get two full days of practice, can go out and find a way to win with every single odd stacked against them is unbelievable,” Dillingham said. “It shows me that we can take a little bit off these guys, and they can be focused and maybe we go from two of those workload days down to one here these last six games to try to keep these guys fresh.”

What’s next?

Following its emotional win Friday night, ASU has to regather itself to travel across the country to Cincinnati on Saturday, October 19. The game will be a 9 a.m. Arizona Time kickoff.

The Bearcats are 3-2, with their two losses coming by a combined four points. The Sun Devils will need to be focused and ready for this not to be a letdown game.

ASU is a confident group right now driven by its leaders. The Sun Devils knew everything was stacked against them, and they’re leaning on each other to come out on top.

“Guys are playing together, and I love it,” Skattebo said.