Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham has fielded questions on speculation surrounding his future for most of the season, especially with big-name programs like LSU, Penn State and Florida letting go of their coaches.
This week, he’s had to stand in front of cameras and brush off questions about the future of his quarterback, Sam Leavitt.
He analogized the talk as college football’s ever-growing reality TV show. It is his team’s job not to get swept up in it.
“ I don’t care. If we go out there and get our butt kicked tomorrow, it’ll be ‘How underachieving was this team? Fire everybody,'” Dillingham told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta. “Like, that’s the world we live in. Episode 12, season 25 of college football.
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“Like who cares? We know what we believe is necessary to win here. We’re gonna keep the train on the tracks, and when we fall off a little bit, we gotta get back on and keep going. It’s just the nature of this reality show that we’re all in.”
He said the Leavitt situation — multiple reports surfaced this week that the QB’s camp will look at transferring when the window opens — is the part of the reality show when they show a clip and send it to a commercial as a cliffhanger.
It won’t be resolved on Saturday, when ASU visits Colorado for its penultimate game of the regular season. Two wins could lead to a Big 12 title game berth if the Sun Devils receive help elsewhere, and Dillingham said the focus at practice earlier this week was excellent.
Kenny Dillingham looking for ASU to play its first complete game
When asked what message Dillingham wanted to instill in his team this week, he was very clear: ASU has not yet played a good football game in all three phases.
Arizona State’s five conference wins have all come by one score, a point difference of 17. It scored game-winning points in the final 90 seconds in wins over Baylor, TCU and Texas Tech.
At 5-2, ASU actually has a negative point differential in conference play (-23) since they were slammed in Utah, 42-10.
“Are we capable of playing a clean football game?” Dillingham said. “That’s the challenge. Like, we’re running out of time. Week 3, it’s like, ‘Oh, next week. Got another week.’ We’re running outta time, guys. … It’s gotta be this week. We gotta put it all together.
“It’s very similar to last year. Last year, every game was close. I mean, every single one until the end of the season. We found a way to finish games out, and hopefully that happens here towards the end of the season.”
In terms of close, late-game situations, Dillingham said he feels the team is prepared to handle that pressure, which is why it has been able to close effectively.
He said it has an ability to play to win instead of being scared to lose, an atmosphere where players look forward to those challenges.
“Who wouldn’t wanna be on the field in the fourth quarter of a one-score game with two minutes left?” Dillingham asked. “That’s why you play college football, right? That’s the fun part, right? It’s not, ‘You better not make a mistake. The game’s on the line.’
“Like, this is a game. We better keep it in perspective and let these guys go play free.”
Will Jordyn Tyson play on Saturday?
Dillingham said star receiver Jordyn Tyson had a “really good chance” to play, but that it would be a game-time decision. Friday’s practice will be a key indicator.
Tyson has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, and instead of shutting his season down to prepare for the NFL Draft as a projected first-round pick, he is working toward a return.
Dillingham was complimentary of Tyson’s team-first mindset, saying NFL franchises should be, too.
“That’s something that I can respect about him from now until eternity,” Dillingham said. “He wanted to be here for his brothers, and he’s doing everything he can to do that.”
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