ASU football is 5-1 to start a season for officially the first time since 2019 and is just one win away from being eligible for a bowl game, a power shift that the team saw coming due to their hard work and perseverance through adversity.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Following being walloped 55-3 last season by Utah in the Pac-12, the Sun Devils got payback on the No. 16 Utes with a 27-19 victory in the tilt of two new members of the Big 12 Conference. Cam Skattebo scored two touchdowns and ASU’s defense picked off three passes by Utah quarterback Cam Rising in the win.
The energy was unreal around Mountain America Stadium on Friday night as the fans stormed the field in the aftermath.
But not only were the fans, the team and everyone in Sun Devil Nation over the moon, but bettors who picked ASU to win over the projected 4.5 wins this season can celebrate while the doubters were proved wrong. ASU was projected to finish dead last in the Big 12 Conference Preseason Media Poll.
When talking about those gamblers who were victorious, head coach Kenny Dillingham revealed a hysterical response to how that winning money should be used.
“We were picked to win four games this year, so a lot of Sun Devil fans picked the over in Vegas. For those of you who won, put that money back into the [NIL] collective because you get to celebrate these wins, you get to have another cold one with your friends and you get to have great Saturday nights, that should be enough for y’all,” Dillingham said postgame. “Take that money that you won and put it back into these kids, put it back in that collective. Let’s enjoy the rest of the year.”
The momentum around the program is at an all-time high after back-to-back seasons going 3-9 and all of the negative effects on the program because of the recruiting violations during the Herm Edwards era.
Brushing away the 30-22 loss to Texas Tech three weeks ago, Dillingham and his coaching staff have changed the trajectory with the players buying in, pushing themselves extremely hard in practice and giving everything they got in a game.
Skattebo, Sam Leavitt, Keyshaun Elliott, Jordyn Tyson and Xavion Alford will get the majority of the praise as the stars, but the team as a whole has many unsung heroes who haven’t gotten enough respect for how impactful their contributions have been.
Dillingham said during training camp that the team is made of a bunch of “misfits” who came from other programs and wanted to prove their worth.
So far, that movement has been paying off, and then some.
WATCH: ASU coach Kenny Dillingham ecstatic for beating Utah, crediting season success to his players
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
