In his first 10 months as head coach of Arizona State, Kenny Dillingham has faced many controversies, enormous changes and turnover.
On Thursday night, he will finally have the opportunity to do what he was brought back to the Valley to do: win football games.
Arizona State will host Southern Utah, an FCS program that finished 5-6 last season and was trounced by more than sixty points in its lone game against an FBS opponent, fellow Pac-12 school Utah, in 2022.
The intrigues of Thursday’s game mostly have nothing to do with the opponent. The proverbial elephant in the room for Arizona State this week has been the self-imposed ban on Bowl Game participation this season.
After an emotional reaction on Sunday, Dillingham spoke again on Monday about the university’s decision to implement the ban in his first season as head coach.
“The seniors deserve the right to try to win every football game, I firmly believe that,” Dillingham said. “The mission is still the mission: be the very best you can be every single day.”
Dillingham said that the strategy of the season will not change. His job is to win football games, and he said he can’t imagine preparing for a season or game where that wouldn’t be a priority.
He was asked about the thrill of being a head coach at the D-1 level for the first time and humbly said he really does not want Thursday to be about himself.
A major difference Dillingham discussed was the fact he has not coached at this level on the sideline. His work at Oregon, Auburn and Florida State kept him in the booth, high above the action.
“It’s going to be more like a practice,” he said. “It’s funny, my wife asked me the same question… I’ve had more experience on the sidelines than in the box, just not on game day.”
The head coach’s remarks Monday morning echoed his newly named starting freshman quarterback, Jaden Rashada, from last week.
“Nothing fazes me,” Rashada said after his first practice as the starter.
The confident freshman has quickly become the center of the Arizona State football universe over the last couple of weeks. His surprise announcement as a starter came last week, about eight days before the Season Opener.
As for Rashada’s job security, both on Thursday and going forward, Dillingham refused to elaborate. The quarterback situation will continue to be fluid. Sophomore Drew Pyne has been sidelined with a hamstring injury and junior Trenton Bourguet has remained in the fold.
The freshman has earned the job, but for how long is unclear right now.
Unfortunately, Rashada will be missing one of his elite pass catchers…for a half. Redshirt junior Elijah Badger will sit out the first half as the result of a personal foul committed last season against Arizona.
“I just learned about it like a week and a half ago,” Dillingham said with a chuckle.
Both coach and quarterback exhibited an aura of calmness and confidence ahead of the season.
After braving the storm of conference realignment, rebuilding a roster, and now a postseason ban, the 33-year-old coach finally has a chance to do the most important part of being a head coach: lead his team in a real game.
Thursday’s game kicks off at the newly named Mountain America Stadium at 7:00 P.M. MST.
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