Kenny Dillingham: ASU taking ‘us vs. the world’ mentality into matchup with No. 10 Texas A&M

Kenny Dillingham has put the Arizona State Sun Devils back on the map in college football, but there have still been plenty of doubters after back-to-back years of losing NFL talent since ASU’s first-ever College Football Playoff appearance in 2024.

Most outlets had the Sun Devils ranked in the 5-9 range in Big 12 power rankings ahead of the 2026 season after losing 49% of their production from last year (second-most in the conference). Now, after walloping Morgan State 70-7, Dillingham and Co. are approaching Saturday’s tilt against No. 10 Texas A&M as “us vs. the world.”

“When I’m on the team that everyone thinks is gonna lose, you play a little bit harder than when you’re on the team that’s kind of stacked,” Dillingham told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Friday. “It’s just human nature. So for us, I just love that mindset of us vs. the world. Nobody believes in us. Let’s go take our shots.

“It’s not the man who swings first; it’s the man who continues to swing, and we just gotta continue to swing.”

Whether everyone on the outside is against the Sun Devils on Saturday or not, the crowd inside the stadium will certainly give ASU that “us vs. the world” feeling.

Kyle Field officially seats 102,733 fans, and the Aggies listed attendance in their season-opener against Missouri State was 107,782. So College Station should be bouncing come Saturday morning.

But Dillingham said that’s only a motivator for his squad.

“Who doesn’t want to compete? I get juiced even thinking about competition,” the Sun Devils head coach said. “Man, how do you not want to go — if a game is on your schedule, it should fire you up. It should get you to an energy level that is a little bit more.

“And if it doesn’t, then are you really a competitor?”

ASU may not have Jordyn Tyson, Raleek Brown or Sam Leavitt this year — with Brown and Leavitt playing for SEC teams and Tyson in the NFL — but the Sun Devils have a new batch of talent that’s ready to make its mark in 2026.

Cutter Boley has experience playing in the SEC, both Omarion Miller and Reed Harris earned praise from Aggies’ head coach Mike Elko as “NFL wideouts” and the opposing coach also complemented ASU cornerbacks and defensive line.

While the Sun Devils are embracing the underdog mentality headed into a hostile environment, Elko’s Aggies aren’t overlooking Dillingham’s refurbished squad.

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