Kenny Dillingham Seeks a Full‑Band Performance From ASU in Lubbock

(Photo: Connor Gleason/WCSN)

TEMPE — Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” spent 24 weeks at the Billboard Hot 100’s No. 1 spot, setting an all‑time record before it was dethroned on Saturday. That same day, she performed at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas.

A week after the concert, Arizona State (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) takes the stage one mile away at Galaxy Stadium, looking to knock off No. 10 Texas Tech (5-0, 2-0 Big 12), the conference’s top team.

While concerts have supporting acts, most people only talk about the headliner. In conversation, they’ll say they went to see one person, not a lineup. ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham doesn’t want the discourse around his team to work that way.

“Bad teams are described by individual talent,” Dillingham said. “When you watch the best teams in the country, there’s going to be a way you describe them, and it’s not going to be one specific player. You may talk about that one player, but you’re going to describe them in a group manner.”

In a similar way, the best offensive lines are defined by the work of all five men. Anything less and the unit doesn’t operate at a high level. For the Sun Devils, that’s been the case more often than not.

But there are reasons to be optimistic. Against Hawaii, Pro Football Focus gave ASU an 80.5 team pass‑blocking grade, its highest of the season.

And on Monday, Dillingham announced two third-year interior linemen — guard Wade Helton and center Tana Alo‑Tupuola — are back in the starting lineup. Helton has missed the last month with a leg injury suffered against Texas A&M, and Alo‑Tupuola spent a week away from the team for personal reasons.

Their returns come at a good time, as the unit is set to face a Red Raiders pass rush that earned a 79.1 grade, third‑highest in the Big 12.

“I think their defensive line’s playing really well,” Dillingham said. “You can see the success those guys have had up front.”

Texas Tech’s 41 sacks in 2025 powered a Big 12 title run and a College Football Playoff appearance. But its top sack‑getters, David Bailey and Romello Height, are now in the NFL. Additionally, the program wasn’t able to retain defensive line coach Zarnell Fitch or outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You.

The Red Raiders replaced Fitch and Ah You with two coaches who bring NFL experience: defensive line coach Imarjaye Albury Sr. and outside linebackers coach Jacquies Smith. Albury Sr. spent 2020–25 in coaching and scouting roles with the Minnesota Vikings, and Smith coached the Atlanta Falcons’ outside linebackers for two seasons.

While no edge rusher has emerged the way Bailey and Height did, fifth‑year defensive lineman A.J. Holmes Jr. has taken a leap in the pass‑rush department. The second‑team All‑American’s 22 pressures are tied for second‑most among Power Four defensive tackles.

“I think they’re always going to be built from the front out,” Dillingham said. “Something they take a lot of pride in is building the defensive front.”

Texas Tech’s roster‑building strategy, emphasizing the trenches, extends to the offense as well. None of its five starting linemen have a pass‑protection grade below 72 on the season. For reference, grades in the 70–79 range are considered above average under PFF’s scale.

The Red Raiders made a switch after three weeks, swapping fifth‑year guard Hunter Zambrano for third‑year Cash Cleveland. The move followed third‑year quarterback Will Hammond taking four sacks against Oregon State. Since then, he’s only been dropped three times.

Texas Tech’s rushing attack has also improved. Through the first two weeks, the Red Raiders gained 338 yards on 78 designed runs, per PFF. From Weeks 3–5, that number has skyrocketed to 500 yards on 91; the average jumped from 4.3 to 5.5 yards per designed run.

“They want to be able to run the football,” Dillingham said. “When they do throw the ball, they’re effective. Especially downfield, because they’re running the ball so effectively. So many of their explosives are coming off the run game.”

The Sun Devils have yet to remove the stench from their 55-19 loss to Baylor. Of the many humiliating aspects, ASU gave a struggling Bears rushing offense whatever it wanted.

Baylor averaged 150.8 rushing yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry before the game. The Bears then ran for season-highs of 244 yards and 6.8 yards per carry. The Sun Devils only surrendered 64 rushing yards to the Rainbow Warriors a week later.

However, Hawaii is averaging an FBS‑worst 82.3 yards per game. Texas Tech will almost certainly present more of a challenge, though third‑year running back Cameron Dickey will be sidelined with a high‑ankle sprain. His 242 yards on the ground are the team’s second‑most.

For Mack Leftwich, the Red Raiders’ offensive coordinator, harping on downhill football is in his blood. His father, Spencer, coached for 30 seasons at the collegiate level, specializing in line‑of‑scrimmage play. His brother, Cutter, is Kentucky’s offensive line coach.

“He does a really good job of scheming up the run,” Dillingham said. “I think his family would be calling him weekly if he’s not scheming up runs.”

ASU’s ground game looked to have finally found the spark it was searching for in first‑year running back Cardae Mack. His 154‑yard, two‑touchdown showing against the Rainbow Warriors earned him Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors.

Another Sun Devil first‑year who provided a boost was offensive lineman Filiva’a “Suka” Lokotui. Lokotui has shown versatility, lining up at both right tackle and tight end. His 85.3 run‑blocking grade against Hawaii led ASU.

“He’s chasing the play with a passion and energy,” Dillingham said. “We’re like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to put you at tight end.’ ‘Perfect.’ ‘Yeah, we’ve got to put you at tackle.’ ‘Perfect.’”

Defensively, first‑year defensive lineman Juian Hugo erupted for his first two career sacks against the Rainbow Warriors. Like Lokotui, Hugo has shown he can line up wherever he’s asked to. While he’s mostly played on the edge, he’s also lined up over the tackle and between the tackle and guard.

Getting to Hammond has proven difficult for opponents. He’s only been pressured on 18.2 percent of his dropbacks, fifth‑lowest among 74 Power Four quarterbacks.

Hugo and the Sun Devils will have to make Hammond uncomfortable to have any chance at pulling off the upset, and Dillingham wouldn’t mind seeing more sack celebrations from his young lineman.

“We have to have an increased pass rush,” Dillingham said. “Hugo did some, I don’t know what it was, something with his hands … scraped his arm and did all of this other stuff, right? Great. I don’t care what that was, but I want to see it.”

ASU’s pass defense played a big role in handing an undefeated Texas Tech its first loss in 2025. But recently, there have been more lapses in coverage. Hawaii left throws on the field, and banking on the Red Raiders to squander downfield opportunities would be unwise.

To pin all of the struggles on one player would be unfair, but ASU will especially need third‑year defensive back Rodney Bimage Jr. to rebound. Across the last two weeks, Bimage Jr. has allowed a 117.4 passer rating in coverage and drawn three penalties.

Bimage Jr. is among the Sun Devil returners who know what it’s like to end a Texas Tech win streak. Ironically, his jersey number is zero. The song that ended Choosin’ Texas’ run at the top was Taylor Swift’s “Patient Zero.”

People don’t forget concerts they saw in the past, but their recent experiences are usually first to be brought up. After Saturday, Dillingham wants ASU’s performance against this year’s undefeated Red Raiders to be the tape teams grab before anything old.

“We’ve got to get teams to watch our current stuff, not what we were,” Dillingham said. “Right now I can guarantee you teams are going back to old film to try to motivate their guys to say, ‘this is what they’re about.’”