TEMPE, Ariz. – Just minutes after Arizona State’s 27-19 win over No. 16 Utah, Kenny Dillingham stood amid a growing crowd on the field at Mountain America Stadium and watched one of the most entertaining on-field experiences of the year Season.

An ESPN reporter asked Dillingham about Cameron Skattebo and what makes the senior running back so special. “His mentality,” Dillingham said late Friday night, trying to make his voice heard over the celebrations. Fans on the left clashed with Dillingham. The Arizona State coach turned to them and screamed like he was at a rock concert.

“We fought! We participated!” Dillingham said, turning his attention back to the interview. “We put in a lot of work! … Our children care!”

The reporter asked Dillingham what a scene like this meant to him, an Arizona State graduate, someone who grew up not far from the field.

“It’s kind of crazy! I was one of those guys!” said the 34-year-old coach, looking at the fans.

Dillingham raised his right arm, backed into the crowd and hopped, hopped until he was swallowed up by Friday night’s festivities. In terms of departures, this was the best result of the college football season, which is appropriate since Arizona State is one of the biggest surprises after six weeks.

Kenny Dillingham with an instant classic post-game interview @ASUFootball defeated #16 Utah at home 🤣#Big12FB | 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/uyBXXEDETh

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 12, 2024

Entering their first Big 12 season, the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the conference. In Dillingham’s first season, they won three games. This year, the Sun Devils, still recovering from an NCAA investigation under former coach Herm Edwards, were not expected to win more.

And yet, at the halfway point of the regular season, Arizona State is 5-1 overall, 2-1 in the Big 12 and on the doorstep of the Top 25.

Credit Skattebo, one of the best running backs in the country. He is so respected that he persuaded the coaching staff to give it a try early in the fourth quarter on Friday night at the ASU 29, 4-1, a move that backfired and could have cost the Sun Devils the game.

Credit Sam Leavitt, the first-year quarterback who continues to improve and show attitude beyond his years. Leavitt left the game in the second quarter after suffering a nasty blow to the ribs, but returned in the second half and kept the Sun Devils steady. That’s thanks to a physical Arizona State defense that held Utah (4-2, 1-2) to a field goal after Skattebo was stopped on fourth down. Complementary football at its finest.

But most of all, I have to commend Dillingham, a coach who loves playing video games with his players, but who recently called out Skattebo in front of the entire team at practice because, first, Skattebo wasn’t on the kickoff team as intended and, second, Dillingham knows which buttons he has to press.

“Skatt needs to be challenged. That’s his personality,” he said.

In just his second year, Kenny Dillingham has brought a scandal-ridden program to the door of the Top 25 after a 5-1 start. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

Dillingham has an unusual connection to this team. This became clear last week after Arizona State beat Kansas in the final minutes. After the game, Dillingham was interviewed at midfield, just like he was on Friday night. This time Dillingham stood next to Leavitt, his quarterback. Dillingham credited Leavitt. Leavitt gave credit to Dillingham. Then they turned and ran into the locker room with one arm around the other, looking like brothers and having the time of their lives.

Jared Leavitt, the quarterback’s father, wasn’t surprised. After Sam Leavitt entered the transfer portal last November, the family flew to the desert for a visit. Dillingham had recruited Sam Leavitt in high school, so Jared and Sam knew him. Still, Jared Leavitt was impressed by the coach’s honesty and enthusiasm.

“He was so easygoing,” Jared Leavitt said in a recent telephone interview. “Most college coaches, the mostpuffs out his chest a little bit, runs around, especially the head coach. Make it feel like it’s a privilege to even talk to them. And, man, he wasn’t like that. We went to dinner and he did card tricks. There was no arrogance towards the guy at all.”

A lot of emphasis was placed on Dillingham’s youth when he was hired in November 2022. “The youngest Power 5 coach in the country!” Someone less confident might have gone beyond their personality and tried to act beyond their years. Dillingham said he actually did that once. At another school for about six months. He resorted to saying, “Let me be what all these other coaches are.” But the act failed miserably. People saw through it.

Dillingham understands that he is different. And he realizes that this could be his biggest advantage in an industry full of imitators. “It may not fit the model of what success looks like in college, but I believe the only way I can succeed — and we can succeed — is if the person steering the boat believes and being honest with who she is,” he said.

Arizona State opened with wins over Wyoming (having a poor season), Mississippi State (having a worse season) and Texas State (having a good season). The Sun Devils lost their Big 12 opener at Texas Tech, but gathered their strength and beat Kansas in a shootout. The most impressive part was her edge. Skattebo ran with force, seeking contact rather than running away. The defense rushed to the ball physically and quickly. It was a good start to a rebuilding program.

But beating Utah is something else. Last year, the Utes embarrassed the Sun Devils, handing them their worst loss as a Pac-12 school. When a reporter at Dillingham’s weekly news conference mentioned the final score of 55-3, the coach acted as if it had been erased from his memory.

“What was the score?” he said.

“Fifty-five to three,” the reporter replied.

“One more time?”

“Fifty-five to three.”

Such losses leave a scar even in college football’s free agency era. Players come and go, squads change, but a 55-3 defeat remains. That’s why so many in the program were hoping the Sun Devils could just stick around Friday night and use the contest as a springboard to a better day.

Perhaps that day is closer than previously thought.

CAM SKATTEBO IS UNSTOPABLE 🔥

ARIZONA STATE LEADS NO. 16 UTAH AT 8, LESS THAN 3 MINUTES LEFT! pic.twitter.com/lD3hqudvZb

– ESPN (@espn) October 12, 2024

Skattebo rushed for 158 yards, including second-half touchdown runs of 50 and 47 yards. Receiver Jordyn Tyson had five catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Caleb McCullough had 12 tackles and twice intercepted Utah quarterback Cameron Rising, who played for the first time since Sept. 7 because of a hand injury.

On his weekly radio show last week, the host pointed out that Skattebo and Leavitt had won weekly conference awards and wondered if Dillingham had told them anything about dealing with success. Dillingham scoffed. “The people who gave the awards are the same people who killed us last,” he said.

The Arizona State coach repeated a similar message at the postgame press conference Friday night. The noise surrounding his team may be changing, but it’s still noise. The Sun Devils can’t change their approach, Dillingham said. The Sun Devils are a team that is working to develop a program. It was just another step, but it was a big one. And that doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy it.

“That’s what college sports are all about,” Dillingham said. “You go to a school so you can remember moments like this.”

(Top photo of Arizona State players and fans celebrating Friday’s victory over Utah: Chris Coduto / Getty Images)