The Arizona State Sun Devils pulled off an exciting upset over the Utah Utes on Friday night and their coach immediately took advantage of the opportunity to strengthen their NIL team in an interesting way.

No one expected the Sun Devils to achieve much this year, which is why their preseason win total was set at 4.5 wins. Now, six games into the season, Arizona State has already surpassed that mark with a shocking 5-1 record.

After the game, Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham suggested that those who cashed in that over bet tonight should donate a portion of their winnings to the NIL team, according to Chris Karpman of 247Sports.

“We were picked to win four games this year, so a lot of (Arizona State) fans chose the over in Vegas. For those of you who won, put the money back into the collective,” Dillingham said as the room began to laugh. “Because you get to celebrate these victories. You can still enjoy a cold one with your friends. You get more great Saturday nights. Those should be enough reasons.”

The 34-year-old coach is in his second season as coach of the Sun Devils and has already turned the program around faster than anyone expected.

Arizona State’s offense, which has been Dillingham’s specialty in the past, has been very solid this season. They entered Friday already in the top 40 in per-game stats nationally. Much better than a year ago when they were in the bottom 10.

Just take last season’s game against the Utes as an example of the quick turnaround. Last year, Utah won the game 55-3. This time it was a 27:19 win for the Sun Devils.

It’s not so easy to compare one game to another in completely different campaigns, but there is still a very noticeable difference.

Arizona State must quickly turn this surprising success into financial gain if it hopes to keep the train running in Tempe.

According to 247Sports, Dillingham and his staff are currently the No. 40 overall recruiting class. It’s mostly filled with three-star players, but there are a few four-star players too.

However, it is much better than the state of the program before he took office. In 2022, they finished at the bottom at No. 103. In the new Big 12 look, they are currently in the fourth-place class.

The sentiment around the Sun Devils program is already higher than expected, wins like this will continue to make Dillingham’s job easier.