(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)
ARLINGTON, Texas — For all of Cam Skattebo’s life, he’s been disrespected. The zero-star recruit out of Rio Linda High School in California got no FBS offers, eventually committing to Sacramento State, an FCS school. The running back proved his doubters, totaling over 1,800 yards in his two seasons in California’s capital.
But the doubters persisted. Skattebo transferred to Arizona State, bringing his naysayers with him. In his first season as a Sun Devil, he put together as good of a season as he could have given ASU’s sanctions and multitude of injuries at quarterback and along the offensive, rushing for 783 yards and nine touchdowns. But still, the doubters persisted.
Skattebo’s 2024 performance should have shaken off all the doubters. The senior has become the first Sun Devil to total over 2,000 total scrimmage yards in a single season, and No. 15 ASU (11-2) rode his back all the way to the College Football Playoff after clinching the Big 12 Title with a 45-19 win over No. 16 Iowa State (10-3).
Skattebo punched his team’s ticket to the playoff by putting on a nationwide spectacle. As the country tuned in, Skattebo rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns, adding another touchdown and 33 yards through the air and winning Big 12 Conference Championship Most Outstanding Player in the process.
After each of his three scores, Skattebo punctuated it by striking the Heisman pose for the first time this season, sending a message to all 870 Heisman voters to get him to New York.
“Nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country, and I’m going to stand on that,” Skattebo said when asked why he decided to break out the pose. “If people disrespect that, I’m going to keep going, and I’m going to keep proving people wrong.
“No matter winning the Heisman or losing the Heisman, I should still be in that situation.”
It would be difficult for Skattebo to win the Heisman trophy. There are two candidates miles in front of the rest of the pack, and it’s for good reason. But over the last few weeks, Skattebo has made a convincing bid for one of the two remaining chairs in New York.
In each of the last three games, where a loss in any one of them means no Big 12 Title or College Football Playoff spot for ASU, Skattebo has totaled three touchdowns and 150+ yards from scrimmage, looking like the best player on the field each time he takes it.
With four spots in New York up for grabs each year, why wouldn’t Skattebo be a perfect fit for one of the two remaining?
“I mean, I don’t know what else you can do to put your name in the race,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham said. “Obviously, there are two other guys that are really, really high on that list, and I don’t know if he should ever surpass those guys, but should he be on that list? Should he have the opportunity to go (to New York)? Yes.”
Iowa State entered this game with the third-ranked passing defense and the 99th-ranked rushing defense in the country. Furthermore, ASU lost star sophomore receiver Jordan Tyson meaning Saturday’s title game was going to be a large dose of Skattebo, and that held true from the get-go.
On the first snap from scrimmage, Skattebo cut to the outside and found some room, gaining 27 yards and putting ASU in Iowa State territory immediately. The Sun Devils later kicked a field goal on that drive, and ASU repeated that formula multiple times. Both of Skattebo’s rushing touchdowns were punched in from inside the three-yard line, but it was his open-field runs that gained the most attention.
Two runs stand out above them all. A little over a minute into the second quarter, Skattebo punched through a hole into the second level and faced two defenders. Both Iowa State players hit Skattebo, one up high, one down low. Textbook. But nothing about Skattebo is textbook. He shook off both players, made a third man miss 10 yards later, and ended the run by sending a fourth man off of him in disgust. Finally, he was brought down after a 47-yard gain.
13 minutes later, it was the same thing. Skattebo took the handoff, trucked one defender, spun past another and cut through two more before being taken down 53 yards later.
Beastquake, meet Skattequake.
“I’ll hand (Skattebo) the ball, carry out my fake a little bit, kind of, peek back, get ready for a gain of five or whatever, and I just see the dude weaving through some traffic and randomly bust loose and breaks one for 70 [yards],” ASU redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt said. “He’s the best player in the nation. Flat out, the most dominant player.”
To cap it all off, Skattebo made sure to meet his receiving quota. With ASU already up 38-10 after a magical third quarter, Skattebo caught the screen pass from Leavitt and had nothing but green grass in front of him. Skattebo walked into the endzone and off of the field as the touchdown was his final play from scrimmage.
The receiving touchdown is not a blip for Skattebo. His 1,500 yards on the ground and 500 receiving yards make him the first player since Stanford’s Christian McCaffery in 2015 to reach those marks. And, as mentioned above, Skattebo’s day took him to 2,074 total yards, setting the single-season scrimmage yards record at ASU.
With up to four games left to play, those numbers have the chance to get even bigger, surely shaking off any remaining doubters in the process.
“There’s so many options you can do with me,” Skattebo said. “The receivers don’t get the option to run the ball. They have to catch the ball for the most part. I get the option to catch the ball in the backfield, run the ball, throw the ball, and possibly kick the ball. I have that option because I’m back there with the quarterback, and I’m just blessed to be in that position.”
