ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham discusses the team’s focus Monday entering Saturday’s Big 12 home opener against Kansas. (Photo by Natalie Lopez/Cronkite News)
TEMPE – Arizona State football remains a work in progress.
Coming off a bye week, coach Kenny Dillingham said Monday that his team is working to return to the same level of play the Sun Devils showed during a 3-0 start to the season as they prepare for their Big 12 Conference home opener against Kansas Saturday at Mountain America Stadium.
”We have to get back to what we’re good at,” Dillingham said. “We have to get back to playing the game really hard.”
In a 30-22 loss at Texas Tech nine days ago, the Sun Devils struggled to maintain the momentum they built over most of their first three games. ASU surrendered 133 rushing yards, including 117 to Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks.
On the other side of the ball, just two weeks after he collected 262 rushing yards against Mississippi State, senior running back Cam Skattebo mustered just 60 yards against the Red Raiders.
Re-establishing its running game will be a priority for ASU early Saturday against the Jayhawks, who are off to a 1-4 start, performing below expectations after ranking 22nd in the Associated Press preseason poll.
Despite the Jayhawks’ record, Dillingham understands winning will prove difficult, no matter what the win-loss column says about Kansas.
“This is a good football team, and sometimes people can just look at the record, but that’s not accurate,” he said of the Jayhawks. “Two plays a game are not going their way. Two plays flip the other direction and they’re the 12th-ranked team in the nation, undefeated and favorites to win the Big 12.”
Kansas led during the second half in all four losses this season – including two against ranked opponents, UNLV and Illinois. Against West Virginia, Kansas led by 11 in Morgantown with 5:39 to play before losing 32-28.
Dillingham continues to stress the importance of the home environment at Mountain America Stadium, especially after ASU got its first taste of the atmosphere in Big 12 stadiums when they lost in Lubbock. He also added an incentive for students if they stay in the stands until the end of the game: free Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches.
“I think we’re very close to having a great environment. If it’s 106 degrees out, and we have a sold-out crowd (that’s a great thing),” Dillingham said.
As for his young quarterback, Sam Leavitt has displayed positive signs to start the season. The freshman has thrown for 855 yards and three touchdowns and has rushed for another 180 yards and four touchdowns.
Dillingham revealed that Leavitt is working through minor footwork changes while trying to improve his command of the Sun Devils’ offense.
“Sam’s played four college football games, three of those he’s thrown for roughly 250 yards, as a freshman, (with) only two turnovers,” Dillingham said.
”He sometimes lunges forward,” Dillingham said of Leavitt’s footwork. “He’s a hop thrower, and sometimes when you do that you get elongated and off balance. And then we started tuning in more on his protections, and understanding more and more who’s ‘hot.’”
The vibe around the program continues to trend in the right direction with two Big 12 opponents traveling to Tempe in the next two weeks. The Sun Devils and Jayhawks each hope to run the ball effectively Saturday, and for the Sun Devils that means getting the bruising and elusive Skattebo back to his previous level of production.
The 5-foot-11, 215-pound senior had been averaging 5.5 yards per carry prior to playing Texas Tech, which held him to 3.3 yards per carry.
Meanwhile, the Jayhawks also lean heavily on the run game, where they are averaging 238.6 yards per game and are led by senior Devin Neal, who has compiled 513 yards and four touchdowns this season.
To Dillingham, it becomes a simple game in the trenches.
“If you can run the ball when the numbers are right, football is easy,” Dillingham said. “If you can’t run the football when numbers are right, football gets extremely difficult.”
