Kenny Dillingham after ASU was 1 of 2 teams to win after traveling: ‘Excuses are like buttholes’

Arizona State football won a game in Orlando on Saturday after brushing aside a unique travel situation where the team’s plane landed just a few hours before kickoff.

“I got told something when I was a high school coach … excuses are like buttholes. Everybody has ’em and they all stink,” ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham told reporters postgame. “That’s what tonight would’ve been. Like, it’s just an excuse. At the end of the day, you’re going to take the field for 60 minutes and play a football game. And you’re either going to get it done or you’re not.

“Nobody’s going to care what the circumstance was, because nobody cares about circumstances. They care about results. Our guys got that done tonight. Our guys were fired up for the challenge.”

Dillingham said ASU’s 26-13 win over UCF, which clinched bowl eligibility for the third straight season, was one of his favorite games since becoming the Sun Devils’ coach.

Because of a nationwide ground stop from the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday, seven teams across college football were forced to fly the day of their contest.

Six of the seven teams were underdogs in their matchup, and ASU was the only underdog to come out on top. Utah (40-39 at Arizona) was the only other winner who traveled the day of.

ASU was initially scheduled to leave Friday afternoon to get into Orlando with enough time for a team meal and a regular amount of downtime before getting a final night’s worth of rest before the game, which was scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. EST.

A recap of the timeline:

• Friday at 1:54 p.m. MST — Ground stoppage begins six minutes ahead of planned departure
• 4:30 p.m. — ASU decides to return to facility
• 6:15 p.m. — Ground stoppage ends
• 7 p.m. — Big 12 decides on new kickoff time of 5:30 p.m. EST
• Saturday at 5:55 a.m. MST — Team meeting
• 7 a.m. — Flight departs Phoenix
• 1 p.m. EST — Flight lands in Orlando
• 2:20 p.m. — Pregame meal at hotel where they would’ve stayed at if the trip was made on Friday
• 3 p.m. — Buses depart for Acrisure Bounce House with just over two hours before kickoff
• around 8:55 p.m. — 26-13 final
• Sunday at 2:45 a.m. MST — ASU arrives back in the Valley, less than 21 hours removed from the team meeting Saturday morning

Even before home games, players typically stay at a team hotel the night before a game rather than in their dorms. But without one booked in Tempe on Friday night, the dorms were the only option. Dillingham called it a good sign that despite all that, every player was in their seat early for the team meeting before departing.

ASU had some tricks up its sleeve to make sure the players were as ready as possible, providing “Firefly” devices on the flight. Fireflies wirelessly strap around or stick onto players’ legs just below the knee and send gentle pulses to increase blood circulation “by up to 400%.”

The Sun Devils started with plenty of energy to the tune of a 10-0 first-half lead, later leading 26-7 before the Knights scored a touchdown in the final couple minutes.

Players echoed their head coach’s sentiment about not letting the travel become an excuse. Wide receiver Derek Eusebio told the Sports Business Journal that his mind was on NFL scouts who would be watching film in a vacuum without the context of the ground stop.

“Absolutely not,” Dillingham said when asked if he had ever had a 24-hour span quite like that stretch.

Related

ASU earns bowl eligibility with convincing win over UCFTrickery! ASU completes 2 passes on 1 play to set up touchdown runJoey Chestnut brings key lime pie eating contest to Orlando ahead of ASU-UCF gameASU’s Reed Harris ranks 1 spot ahead of Arch Manning in NFL Draft expert’s top 50 prospectsNationwide FAA ground stop lifted: ASU-UCF kickoff pushed backGiants’ Cam Skattebo threw up a pretzel-wrapped hot dog in 2-touchdown effort vs. Commanders