ASU hosts BYU for shot at Big 12 title, but Dillingham not letting team get ‘lost in the sauce’

TEMPE — Arizona State football is on the brink of a special campaign ahead of their marquee matchup against No. 14 BYU on Saturday, the highest-ranked opponent on ASU’s schedule and a team the Sun Devils need to jump to make the Big 12 title game.

It’s the only hurdle that has the attention of ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham, who on Monday said he has “no clue” about Big 12 tiebreakers in play.

“Somebody was telling me if we win and somebody else loses, and then like ranch dressing falls on a wing, I don’t really know,” Dillingham said at a press conference. “Play the very best you can play, prepare the very best you can prepare and like I told the guys last week in my leadership council meeting, don’t get lost in the sauce.

“Just be the very best we can be over and over again, and wherever we end up is the best we could’ve ever done. That’s it.”

At 8-2 with a 5-2 conference record, ASU can nearly guarantee itself a spot in the Big 12 title game by winning out.

BYU, which lost for the first time this season on Saturday, remains ahead in the standings, but a head-to-head win would go a long way in helping the Sun Devils’ chances.

Mountain America Stadium is expected to be sold out for the game with a queue in excess of 1,000 students for their passes on Monday.

Kenny Dillingham has a message for any ASU fan selling their ticket to this Saturday’s game vs. BYU:

Make sure it goes to another ASU fan. pic.twitter.com/9w1YqwddP8

— State of the Sun Devils (@AZSportsDevils) November 18, 2024

Did Dillingham expect to be in this position, playing such meaningful football in the back half of November?

“You always expect to win. … We’re four plays away from having four losses. We’re a couple plays away from having 10 wins. That’s the nature of football, so I’ve never looked at it like that,” Dillingham said. “I always look at it like, ‘Man we could win every game on our schedule. Now, we could lose every game on our schedule too, but we could win every game too.'”

Dillingham said he could really start to tell something special was possible during the second game, a 30-23 win over Mississippi State that saw ASU take a 27-3 lead into halftime.

He said how hard the Sun Devils played with so much physicality and passion, as well as the comradery throughout the team confirmed what he thought about his group.

Dillingham believes being honest and straightforward about perception helps keep the focus on maximizing each day over and over again.

“I just show them what’s actually being said. I don’t avoid it or try to trick them. So when people are saying bad things, I show them the bad things. Now people are saying these good things, I have a three-minute video tape of everybody saying how great we are,” Dillingham said. “Let’s not hide from what people are saying, let’s approach it. Today, we started our meeting and I started with ‘Oh, we’re the No. 21 team in the country,’ and everybody booed. … They know me, it’s like who cares? Nobody cares.

“Let’s keep the main thing the main thing,” Dillingham added.

ASU (8-2, 5-2) and BYU (9-1, 6-1) face off at 1:30 p.m. MST on Saturday. Listen to play-by-play coverage on 98.7 FM, the Arizona Sports app or on ArizonaSports.com with the State of the Sun Devils pregame show beginning at 10:30 a.m.