Big 12 championship, an 11-win season, and a playoff berth first time in their history. ASU went big with Kenny Dillingham last year as the team achieved the most wins since 1996, and players like Cam Skattebo showed just how good ASU was. The bowling ball running back achieved 1,568 rushing yards and could have won the team that Texas game, too, if not for some controversial targeting calls. However, despite that setback, the season was a massive success, and so the 2025 season becomes much more important. But why?

For one, ASU needs to prove some of the doubters wrong, who still tout ASU’s 2024 success to be a ‘fluke’. But to do that? ASU has to give it all in the training with just one month left in the season. However, what would happen if complacency sets in and players put in sloppy performances? It probably won’t happen because Dillingham just came out, breathing fire in an interview after the team failed to match his expectations in training.

The head coach was asked by the interviewer about the training on the first day of the fall camp. The answer? Dillingham furiously started a rant about the disappointing team performance put in by the players. “We’ve got to be better. I mean, like I said, our offense in general. Too many. Too many drops on the offensive group. It was a bad day. I mean, it was a really, really bad day on offense, and it all stems from passion,” said Dillingham, almost getting breathless as he continued further.

“Don’t be mad going five and seven. It’s okay. Don’t be mad going six and six. Don’t be mad going three and nine because somebody has to do those records. There’s gonna be tons of teams who do it. Why not us? We didn’t practice bad. What I mean by that is that we didn’t bust. We didn’t play this with passion. We didn’t care if we scored a touchdown. We didn’t care if there was an interception. We didn’t care if somebody made a great play for most of practice. We were just out here practicing, and to me, for the best teams, it matters all the time,” said Dillingham. The head coach is right to be furious, too.

ASU is returning with some of its best players for the 2025 season. These include the QB, Sam Leavitt, who passed for 2,885 yards and rushed for another 443. Then there is receiver Jordyn Tyson, coming after a 1,101 receiving yard season with the team. Other players like Myles Rowser and Ben Coleman also return, making the prospects of success in the season exciting. Even then, can the team afford complacency?

Despite the talent returning, without putting in hard work in training, the feat won’t be possible, and that’s why Dillingham ultimately called the first day of the fall camp “an average practice for an average team,” setting the bar quite high. Despite the rant, though, Kenny Dillingham was earlier excited about Sam Leavitt.

Kenny Dillingham shares his 2025 plan for Sam Leavitt

Folks say that the Big 12 is unexpected, and you never know when a team can exceed expectations. However, no team has consistently managed to stay there for long. We saw how Texas Tech imploded and how Colorado exceeded all expectations, producing a Heisman winner. So, with Sam Leavitt returning, Dillingham also has a chance to break the convention and produce sustained success. And he knows how to guide his QB to do that.

“I mean in a way, yes. He [Sam Leavitt] knows the system, right? In some ways, he may know the vernacular better than me, right? Because he’s in there more than me in terms of the true vernacular of the football plays. But for me and him, it’s always been communicating. What did you see? I never tell him why didn’t you throw the post. I say what did you see? Cuz I want to know why he didn’t throw the post,” said Kenny Dillingham yesterday as he faced the media.

The Sun Devils were truly one of the best teams in college football last year, and if their schedule is taken into consideration, they can do that again. In terms of conference games, Baylor, Texas Tech, and WVU, along with Colorado, could give them trouble. Apart from that, they also have to be wary of Iowa State and TCU, who are coming after a 9+ win season last year.