The Arizona State Sun Devils are one win away from a third straight bowl trip under Kenny Dillingham after a 20-10 home win over the Colorado Buffaloes on Nov. 7 moved them to 5-4 and 3-3 in the Big 12. Their next chance comes Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET against the UCF Knights in Orlando.
Dillingham said this Wednesday that being on the cusp of bowl eligibility isn’t on his mind, and he pointed instead to what a bowl invitation would give his program in December.
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“The more times you can get on the grass and coach, it’s better for your young guys,” Dillingham said.
Before last season’s Sun Bowl, Arizona State treated its December practices as an extra camp for underclassmen, and On3’s Ryan Myers reported at the time that freshman quarterback Cam Dyer ran with the first team for an entire practice.
Arizona State Shows Energy but Lacks “Violence,” Says Kenny Dillingham After First Padded Practice (Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
“We’re going to give a lot of guys playing time. That helps you build success,” Dillingham said before that game, a 42-39 loss to the Duke Blue Devils in El Paso.
The Sun Devils won the Big 12 and reached the College Football Playoff in 2024, went 8-5 last season and are 5-4 this fall, with losses to the Texas A&M Aggies and Baylor Bears by 28 and 36 points. Dillingham’s 2024 team was picked last in the Big 12’s preseason poll before winning the league, so he has seen how quickly a roster can turn.
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Dillingham signed a five-year extension last December, so the program is planning on a longer horizon than one season, and a bowl bid would hand his staff weeks of extra work with the players who will carry 2027.
Where can Arizona State find a sixth win?
UCF is the first of three remaining chances. The Sun Devils then host the No. 25 Oklahoma State Cowboys on Nov. 21 for homecoming and close the regular season at the Arizona Wildcats on Nov. 28 in the 100th Territorial Cup.
Kenny Dillingham’s Bold “Bring It Every Day” Remark Sets Tone for Arizona State’s 2026 Season
(Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images)
Arizona State’s record also shows a team that tends to win when it starts well. Entering the Colorado game, the Sun Devils were 4-0 this season when leading or tied at halftime and 0-4 when trailing, part of a 25-4 mark in games they lead or are tied at the break under Dillingham, against 1-17 when behind. They had also attempted 21 fourth-down conversions in their first eight games, a sign of how aggressively Dillingham coaches with this group.
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Arizona took last year’s Territorial Cup 23-7 in Tempe, and the 100th meeting will be played in Tucson, where Arizona State won the 2024 edition on the way to its Big 12 title.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
