Sun Devils still motivated by underdog mentality following Utah win

(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)

Last Saturday night, surrounded on the field by thousands of fans, ASU football celebrated the biggest win of Kenny Dillingham’s career as a head coach.

Following the statement 27-19 upset victory over then-No. 16 Utah, fans flooded the field, embracing the first top-25 win of Dillingham’s tenure.

Tuesday morning, it was back to business as usual.

Starting an hour earlier to prepare for Saturday’s 9 am AZT kickoff against Cincinnati, the Sun Devils went through individual drills and team periods with their trademark intensity.

Although the win over Utah felt like a turning point, a moment that would signify a wave of change with the program, to the players on the field Tuesday morning, basically everything was the same as before.

“Obviously, it’s a good win for us, and something we knew what we could do before the season … but same mentality that we [have] going into every week,” redshirt senior wide receiver Xavier Guillory said. “So we’re going into Cincinnati this week, and it’s a new season every, Sunday, every Monday.”

For ASU, the impact of the win over Utah went beyond just their record this season. It was revenge for last year’s matchup which resulted in a 55-3 dredging by the Utes. The Sun Devils were also motivated by the fact they were picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference.

Even getting off to their hot start, few believed that ASU actually had a chance to knock off Utah. In fact, many would’ve considered it a miracle for ASU to avoid being blown out. Instead, the Sun Devils powered their way to a win. Their now 2-1 conference record (5-1 overall) has them tied with Kansas State for fourth in the Big 12.

“It’s been about us and nobody else,” Guillory said. “We’re not worried about any outside noise, news outlets, fans, whatever. We just focus on what we have as a team, because before all the wins, that’s all we had. Nobody believed in us. They had us ranked at the bottom of the conference. We were ranked 16th in the Big 12. It was like they had no respect for us.

While people on the outside may have doubted, the people inside the program were confident all along. In looking at how far ASU has come since fall camp, players insisted that the belief was there from the beginning. As far as their approach on the field, nothing has changed. They were always preparing for this outcome.

Even with their success, the Sun Devils recognize the importance of not letting their newfound recognition go to their heads. They echoed statements of recalibrating each week for whichever opponent awaits them on the other side of the field. They’re bought into themselves, not the media’s narratives.

“I mean, I’m not gonna say that it didn’t give us confidence going into this week, and going into the bye week and rest of the season that it doesn’t give us confidence,” redshirt senior running back DeCarlos Brooks said. “But, we just take it one day at a time with our preparation, our execution, and just being the team that I thought we could be in the offseason.”

Even with the win proving something to the doubters, there’s still an essence of disrespect in the locker room. With now a top-25 win on their resume, the Sun Devils still couldn’t squeeze their way into the AP Poll. They landed just outside at No. 28, receiving 39 votes.

But similar to the results of the Big 12 Preseason Poll, where they stand in the eyes of others isn’t what matters. Their motivation to keep playing hard comes from the bonds they’ve formed with each other.

“This team is really tight,” graduate wide receiver Melquan Stovall said. “… It’s something that’s special to look at when you look at a brotherhood within a team.

“[Not getting ranked] definitely gives us an edge and a bit of a hunger to continue to prove people wrong and prove to ourselves who we are, because we know who we are, all the work that we put in. So it’s definitely something that we can feed off of. As far as energy, that’s something that we feel like is disrespectful, but we don’t really focus on it. We just focus on our next opponent each week.”

The Sun Devils like playing the underdogs and that’s been the role they’ve filled most of the season. With the news of redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt’s injury causing him to miss Saturday’s game, the Sun Devils are the underdogs once again traveling to Nippert Stadium.

Still, they believe they have everything they need in their locker room to get a win.

“We say it all the time, only people who really believe in us is us,” junior linebacker Jordan Crook said. “Ultimately, that’s all that matters. If everybody in this building feels like we got the best team, and we’re gonna work towards that, then, we’ll go out there and show it on weekends. We just got to put the work in.”