A lot can change in one year. On Oct. 28, 2023, ASU beat Washington State for its second win of the season to improve to 2-6. Twelve months later, the team is 5-2 seeking a sixth win and bowl eligibility.
Three things may explain why the Sun Devils have been a more dominant team this season.
A Change in Culture
ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham was asked before the first game of the year what he wanted to learn about his team and how they deal with adversity. The team has seemingly fought through the hurdles and shown their resilience.
Dillingham has found his team down against Texas State, Texas Tech, Kansas, Cincinnati and Utah this season. While not winning every matchup, the team bounced back in every game.
"When you have a team and everybody's bought in, and everybody's playing for each other, then the sky's the limit," said redshirt junior defensive end Clayton Smith. "I feel like there were a lot of times last year when, while it wasn't at all times, we were just playing for ourselves."
Rebuilds usually start at the top, but in this instance, it's not Dillingham. It's his players.
ASU introduced the Tillman Leadership Council at the beginning of the season. It consists of 12 players, including senior running back Cam Skattebo, redshirt junior defensive back Xavion Alford, redshirt senior offensive lineman Leif Fautanu and redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt.
"What our best players do consistently is the standard: the effort they give, the physicality they give, how often they get treatment, how often they're prepared for practice," Dillingham said. "They really took it upon themselves to change the culture, change the standards."
Youngblood at shotgun
The new signal caller for the Sun Devils is first-year starter Leavitt, who transferred from Michigan State. In his six starts this season, he's completed 90 of his 152 passes for 1,166 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.
"When the game was on the line, he showed up," Dillingham said after the Kansas win. "That was his fifth start in college football. That's pretty exciting for ASU and that's pretty exciting for the Valley."
It's not only the play on the field but his leadership that stands out. Leavitt isn't phased by putting up less-than-impressive games on the stat sheet. That embodiment clearly showed itself after the Mississippi State win.
That game was marked by Skattebo's historic night as he rushed for a career-high 262 yards; however, Leavitt only threw 69 yards on the night.
"He didn't complain one time the whole game. That's why I love the kid. I sit there and tell him all game, 'give me the ball,'" Skattebo said. "He does his job."
Leavitt's status is still questionable for the matchup against Oklahoma State this week.
Backfield dominance
There are not many ways to describe Skattebo's game other than powerful. Even with two bye weeks this season, Skattebo has 848 yards and ranks 12th in the nation in total yards, according to the NCAA.
"I think today was fun," Skattebo said after the Mississippi State win. "That's the most fun I've had in a football game in a long time, until the end. We got our ups and downs there, but that was fun."
Dillingham has coached NFL-esque running back talent before. A great example is Tampa Bay Buccaneer Bucky Irving, who he coached at Oregon. He knows what it takes to be an NFL running back, and Dillingham mentioned that last year that Skattebo didn't look like an NFL player. Dillingham challenged him to get in better shape.
Skattebo seemingly took it to heart and dropped around 10 pounds in the offseason. Now, the Sun Devils are reaping the benefits.
Whether it's trucking a defender or ending the game on a long run, Skattebo shows up in highlight reels week in and week out. Skattebo's dominance is one of the main reasons why ASU is 5-2, as he is the leading scorer on the Sun Devils squad.
"You're going to get in better shape and be faster," Dillingham said. "You're going to control your passion, and you're going to channel it. He's done everything I've asked him. So right now, he looks like a Sunday player."
Edited by Jack Barron, Abigail Beck and Alexis Heichman.
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Daniel is a senior studying sports journalism. This is his first semester with The State Press. He has also worked at WCSN, OC Riptide, 1550 Sports and AZPreps365.
