Kenny Dillingham excited to bring ASU football’s passion to Peach Bowl, CFP

ASU football had its full-circle moment on Sunday as it received a first-round bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, landing in the Peach Bowl quarterfinal.

“They’re fired up. Wouldn’t you be? Everybody counted you out. All these guys came here and they joined a team that was 3-9 back-to-back years,” head coach Kenny Dillingham told reporters on a Sunday Zoom call. “They picked to join a team that wasn’t good at all that there was no positive media attention around it that had sanctions and penalties and everything, and they’ve completely flipped it upside down.”

In the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, Arizona State will play the winner of No. 5 Texas and No. 12 Clemson in a first-round game that will be played at Texas on Dec. 21.

Defensive lineman Jeff Clark, a native of Powder Springs, Georgia, was among the most fired up knowing he’d be playing near his old stomping grounds.

He corrected Dillingham when he joked the team was headed to New Orleans for the Peach Bowl just to see if Clark, who grew up watching the game and hoping he’d one day play in it, was paying attention.

“There’s gonna be real emotion that they’ll carry on for the rest of their life with each other. They’ll always have these moments … and I think that was just another one of these moments of being there to see their name picked on national television … that’s pretty special for them and the best part is they’re still hungry to see how far they can take the journey.”

ARIZONA STATE CONSIDERED 😈@ASUFootball is the No.4 seed in the @CFBPlayoff #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/hZZ7hEAMJf

— Sun Devil Football (@ASUFootball) December 8, 2024

Dillingham later said he doesn’t necessarily think the media messed up in picking the Sun Devils to finish last in the Big 12 because of how many unproven pieces they would rely on, such as Xavion Alford or Sam Leavitt.

The plan was not to win this year, Dillingham said. The hope was to show signs of building in Year 2 with an injection of young transfers that have a chance to stick around for the real winning ASU wanted to achieve in Year 3.

The coach said 35 of the 44 players in ASU’s two-deep depth chart can come back next season and build off the success of this year’s surprise CFP appearance.

“Hopefully, it’ll help recruiting,” Dillingham said of how the stage can help ASU long-term. “Hopefully this stage and our brand being out there shows people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football. Every 10-15 years, a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.

“I really think Arizona State, the pitchfork, the Sun Devil has a brand that can reach nationally. We just have to create some consistency here and win here, and I think this is the first step in creating both those things.”

How will ASU handle long lead-up to Peach Bowl on Jan. 1?

Dillingham said the focus will be on a self-scout without practice this week as ASU waits to know which of Clemson and Texas it will play in Atlanta.

He said as New Year’s Day approaches and practice ramps up, the team will try to strike a balance between staying fresh and practicing hard. He’ll call other coaches who have coached in these situations for advice on how to handle that.

Some of the earlier practices in the process will provide more reps for younger players, handling the process similar to a bye week, of which the Sun Devils had two this season.

“At the end of the day, the Peach Bowl is gonna get a group of guys who are gonna play as hard as they can for 60 minutes, maybe a little bit longer if necessary,” Dillingham said. “And I think that’s why these guys have gone from worst to first in the conference is ’cause of how hard we play, how passionate we are and I’m excited to get down there.”