‘Don’t get lost in the sauce’: No. 21 Arizona State preps for landmark game against No. 14 BYU

Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham addresses the media Monday ahead of Saturday’s much-anticipated meeting against 9-1 BYU. (Photo by Brendon Pricco/Cronkite News)

TEMPE – The last time Arizona State football finished the season undefeated at home came in 2004. Kenny Dillingham, then a 14-year-old freshman in high school, reflected Monday on what he was likely up to 20 years ago.

“I was either watching games or probably playing Halo 2 with people in high school,” Dillingham said.

The Master Chief, the Halo franchise’s iconic main character, is known for making miracles happen on science-fiction battlefields. While the gridiron isn’t the same as a sci-fi war, what the Arizona State head coach has done with the program in his second year is nothing short of a miracle.

On Saturday, the 8-2 Sun Devils, now ranked No. 21 in the AP poll, square off against No. 14 BYU with a chance to essentially control their destiny in pursuit of a Big 12 Championship game bid.

But Dillingham never looked at this season like that.

“You always expect to win … I don’t look at the macro very much of like how many wins are you going to achieve,” Dillingham said. “We’re four plays away from having four losses … I always look at it like, ‘Man, we could win every game on our schedule. No, we can lose every game on our schedule too.’”

From a national media standpoint, ASU flew under the radar throughout much of the season. Now, ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt and Pat McAfee, the Ringer’s Ryen Russillo and many other sports media staples have given the Sun Devils their flowers in one way or another.

The matchup between Arizona State and BYU also brought back the seemingly omnipresent mentioning of just how wrong the preseason Big 12 media poll was. By this point, the world knows ASU was picked to finish 16th out of 16 teams. But what BYU accomplished in its first 10 games is nearly as astonishing after being picked to finish 13th. The conference as a whole is essentially upside down, with three of the conference’s four ranked squads (No. 16 Colorado being the third) not picked to finish in the top 10 in the preseason poll.

Dillingham’s respect for Cougars coach Kalan Sitake stretches beyond the football field, however.

“He’s definitely in the top three of best people in the profession,” Dillingham said. “You would want to have your child play for him … you can just see his energy with the players, his connection with the players. That’s why they play really hard for him.”

In 2014, No. 9 ASU beat No. 10 Notre Dame in a high profile meeting at then-Sun Devil Stadium, the last matchup for the Sun Devils that carried as much importance as Saturday’s meet with BYU. (Photo by Kevin French/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Saturday’s game has the feel of a moment that could launch the Sun Devils from exciting story to legitimate contender in the new College Football Playoff format. It also could be a crystallization of all of the work Dillingham has done to “Activate the Valley.”

Important people around the ASU athletic program realize the gravity of the moment.

“I heard Kenny talking about selling this place out this weekend. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t sell this place out, are you kidding me?” ASU baseball coach Willie Bloomquist said. “We’ve all been itching for a winner, well here you go. It’s on a platter … this is what we want here in Tempe.”

A sold-out Mountain America Stadium behind a ranked Arizona State squad could pose BYU’s most difficult road test of the season. Before their Tempe visit, the Cougars’ most difficult road environments were visits to SMU and in-state rival Utah for the “Holy War.”

The Inferno student section record could be in play once again aturday. Student tickets were available to be claimed Monday morning on ASU’s ticketing portal, with virtual “lines” for users starting ahead of the portal opening. ASU associate athletic director and student engagement liaison Bill Kennedy confirmed that the stadium expects over 10,000 students in attendance.

Emotions will be high for both teams, but for different reasons.

“We’re coming off an emotional win, they’re coming off an emotional loss,” Dillingham said. “So which team should have a little more piss and vinegar in them? Probably the team that just came off some negative. Not the team that’s being told how great we are.

“They definitely have an advantage when it comes to mindset based off of the last week’s game. They’re going into this game like it’s the Super Bowl, which it is.”

While Dillingham is right to be nervous about the importance of the game for BYU, it’s hard to ignore how long it has been since the Sun Devils hosted a game with this level of importance.

In 2014, a little over 10 years ago, No. 9 ASU hosted No. 10 Notre Dame at then-Sun Devil Stadium for a massive ranked matchup which the Sun Devils won 55-31. The season marked the inaugural playing of the College Football Playoff. ASU reached No. 6 on the CFP rankings after the Notre Dame win but collapsed down the stretch with two losses in Pac-12 play, ultimately earning a berth in the Sun Bowl.

Ten years later, a path to another inaugural version of a college football playoff looks to be in reach for Arizona State with a win in a crucial ranked matchup in November.

But as he has all year, Dillingham wants his players to stay composed.

“Don’t get lost in the sauce,” he said. “Just be the very best we can be over and over again and wherever we end up is the best we could have ever done.”