(Photo: WCSN/ Spencer Barnes)
TEMPE — Two days after No. 12 Arizona State football opened up the 2025 season with a 38-19 victory over Northern Arizona, head coach Kenny Dillingham took his place in the media room at Mountain America Stadium to detail his thoughts on the team’s performance: the good, the bad, and what needs to improve before the Sun Devils’ road trip to Starkville, Mississippi this weekend.
Right off the bat, Dillingham addressed the 93 yards in penalties and overall sloppy execution that afflicted the offense throughout Saturday night. Despite racking up 460 yards of offense, ASU went a combined 4-for-13 on third and fourth down alongside four punts that led to NAU winning the time of possession battle by three minutes.
Just like he did in his initial postgame press conference, Dillingham credited the Lumberjacks’ coaching staff for effectively deploying an odd stack defensive formation. He then stated that he looks forward to spending the week making sure the offense gets into more of a rhythm while simultaneously expecting the unexpected.
“I’m excited to go clean it up,” Dillingham said. “That’s the best part about this week is we’re going to practice craziness because we face three down and we face four down all camp. It’s just a good learning experience for me to help our guys more.”
Throughout the 27 minutes Dillingham spent talking to the media, one word kept coming up in both questions and answers: communication. Three delay of game penalties, two false starts, and a call for an ineligible man downfield that negated a 64-yard pass validate the coach’s assertion that communication itself isn’t worth much if the right message isn’t being passed on.
He made it clear that it was his responsibility to ensure that his players were prepared in every in-game scenario on both sides of the ball. ASU’s narrow 31-28 victory at Texas State in 2024, in spite of committing eight penalties, was cited on numerous occasions as an example of how the inability to pay attention to the finer details can derail an entire game plan.
“If you can’t get lined up, you’re screwed,” Dillingham said. “You better get lined up and get the call. Understand who’s carrying the verticals. Understand who’s in the run fit, how you’re fitting the run. And if you don’t, they’re going to get on a roll and take advantage of you because they’re not going to let you catch your breath. They’re going to keep pushing the pedal to the metal.”
One eye-opening takeaway from the Sun Devils’ offensive performance was the early results from the passing attack. Out of the 25 completions thrown by sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt, 12 were caught by redshirt junior wide receiver Jordyn Tyson for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
However, Tyson was also one of just two wide receivers to record a reception on Saturday, with senior wideout Malik McClain being responsible for five yards on two catches. Dillingham insinuated that the disparity in pass distribution largely resulted from junior wide receiver Jalen Moss being taken out of the game due to injury and being unable to find a role for freshman wide receiver Jaren Hamilton as the game went on.
As per usual, the coach disregarded any notion of a forming narrative and assured that not only did every current member of the position group have a place in the scheme, but it wasn’t such a bad thing for the ball to end up in the hands of a Biletnikoff contender constantly.
“I think the wide receiver room is in a really good place,” Dillingham said. “I think multiple guys can make plays. I think when given those opportunities, they made plays. There were a couple of times where they didn’t, but at the same time, when you have Jordyn Tyson, if a team’s not going to do something to drastically take him away, wouldn’t you be a fool not to throw him the ball?
The defensive side of the ball, on the other hand, was also a mixed bag to start out. The Sun Devils gave up 331 total yards, but only allowed NAU to convert a combined five third and fourth downs on 20 attempts. In particular, ASU had a 93% success rate when preventing a third or fourth down conversion if the yardage needed was three or more.
All but one of the five successful conversions came when the Lumberjacks needed two yards or less to move the chains, including allowing an eventual touchdown after failing to stop a 4th and 1 in the red zone. While displeased at the third and short defense, he viewed the overall showing from the unit as a positive and expressed that his message to the team after the game came from a sense of trust in them to do what needs to be done.
“We’ve got to get out of the way of the players,” Dillingham said. “Let the players play. You guys go play and stay out of our own way, and all is good because we’ve got a really, really talented football team. I love our football team. I think we’re as good as we want to be.”
This Saturday, Arizona State hits the road for the first time this season to take on Mississippi State. The team’s 30-23 defeat of the Bulldogs last season gave the program its first win over an SEC opponent, and a victory in Starkville would mean the Sun Devils could add a first-ever win in an SEC environment to the resume.
In the weeks leading up to this contest, Dillingham has made sure practices held inside the Verde Dickey Dome are accompanied by high humidity levels to get players acclimated to the natural disadvantage that lies ahead. Although he will put a hold on simulating the climate conditions due to fears of dehydration, the coach fully intends to make up for it by introducing the other unique aspect of Davis Wade Stadium’s atmosphere.
“Cowbells baby,” Dillingham said. “This place loves football too, but down there, they’ll be there at 9 a.m. for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff, and they’ll be getting ready to roll. It’ll be their first home game of the year, so I’m excited. The football down there’s really good.”
The Sun Devils prevailed in the previous matchup between the two squads, thanks in large part to former running back Cam Skattebo rushing for 262 yards. Now that he’s moved on to the NFL, ASU will need to find a new X-factor to stave off a potential upset.
When reminded of Skattebo’s heroics last season, Dillingham took the opportunity to challenge his players to display the same hard-nosed mentality that the eventual fourth-round pick showcased when carrying the team on his back. Coming off what he called a lighter camp than usual, he expects the intensity and passion he’s looking for to come out of nothing less than a desire to win at all costs.
“At the end of the day, how bad you want something matters,” Dillingham said. “What you pour into your cup is what you’re going to pour out. And if you think that you can pour something special into your cup and it’s going to magically create more water for you to drink, you’re absolutely wrong. What you put in is what you’re going to get out.”
