Three Things Arizona State Coach Kenny Dillingham Said ahead of ASU’s Trip to Stillwater

Kenny Dillingham’s Sun Devils are certainly on a good trajectory.

After Arizona State, Dillingham’s alma mater, went 3-9 in his first year in 2023, Dillingham has ASU at 5-2 this season. The Sun Devils are a win away from bowl eligibility, a feat they haven’t conquered since 2021.

Dillingham and Arizona State travel to Stillwater this weekend to play Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium. Dillingham held his weekly news conference on Monday to preview the matchup. Here are three things he said.

1. Gundy’s Run of Winning Seasons ‘Absurd’

The Cowboys have been so consistently solid over the past 20 years under Mike Gundy that even when the Cowboys are down, it’s hard for teams to take them lightly.

Dillingham was asked Monday on whether there were similarities between Gundy and Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. Dillingham said there are.

“(Gundy has) gone roughly 20 years with winning seven or more games,” Dillingham said. “That’s absurd. I mean, that’s absolutely crazy. …

“The consistency he’s brought to that program is very similar to Coach Whittingham. It’s impressive, the toughness that they consistently play with. The style of brand — you know what both those teams are gonna be when you play them. You know the style of play. They may change schemes. They may change coordinators, but you know when you play Oklahoma State, they’re gonna have a really good wideout that you gotta cover. They’re gonna be able to throw the ball productively. They’re gonna have a big back. Like, you know the style of play you’re gonna get, and I think any time you can create that consistency in your program, that’s how you win for a long time. So kudos to him because he’s done a phenomenal job for a long, long time.”

2. Leavitt ‘Should Be Back’

The Cowboys could use any help they could get, but it looks like the Sun Devils will be a bit healthier than they have been coming to Stillwater.

Starting quarterback Sam Leavitt cracked a rib in Arizona State’s 27-19 win against Utah on Oct. 11. That forced Leavitt to miss the Sun Devils’ trip to Cincinnati, a game they would lose. But after a bye week, Dillingham said Leavitt is cleared to play against the Cowboys.

“Sam should be back, but it’s still, I’d say 60/40, ya know, 70/30 that he’ll play this week,” Dillingham said. “But it’s one of those, like, we gotta see him practice and stuff like that. But he’s cleared to play. He wants to play. He’s excited about playing. He’s been putting in a lot of work to play, so we’ll see how that transpires.”

Thus far this season, Leavitt has completed 59% of his passes for 1,166 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions while running for another 279 yards and four scores.

3. OSU’s Defense ‘Completely Different’ Than Last Year

OSU’s defense has been … not good this season but particularly not good in recent weeks.

During this five-game losing streak, the Cowboys have given up 35.6 points a game and 307.2 rushing yards be game.

The Cowboys played Arizona State in Tempe last season, where OSU’s defense held the Sun Devils to just 15 points and 277 yards of total offense. Dillingham hit the portal hard this offseason, so ASU is a different team. He also said OSU is playing a different defense.

“They’re completely different than last year,” Dillingham said. “Brought in a new coordinator (Bryan Nardo) last year, who is still there, but he was three-down, three-high safety. They’re not that this year. They’re back to four-down — way more traditional based. I could see them potentially going back to the three-down, so we’ll have to practice both just because they did do a little bit of that. So, you have to have a plan for both. …

“They’re changing quite a bit from earlier in the year to now, so you kind of gotta prepare for not what they’re currently doing but what they have in their arsenal. I know that’s that three-high safety stuff.”