Following Arizona State football’s loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Friday, head coach Kenny Dillingham took a moment to praise his senior players for their roles in changing the culture for the program over the last few seasons.
“I told our guys in the locker room this sucks and this is horrible. I have to live in this city and hear of this game just around,” Dillingham said postgame. “But I told the group, ‘You guys did something special.’ I had them all raise their hand and said, ‘You guys came here when we were dead. Absolutely nobody wanted to be here and you guys took a team and did something that hasn’t been done in 12 years: back-to-back eight win seasons.’”
“The moment sucks, but like the body of work…”
ASU coach Kenny Dillingham breaks down how he puts this regular season in perspective and what goal can still be achieved after Territorial Cup loss. pic.twitter.com/m9TVDhiofa
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 29, 2025
ASU’s loss on Friday eliminated the Sun Devils’ chances of reaching the Big 12 Championship game for the second season in a row. The Sun Devils were plagued by senior quarterback Jeff Sims’ five turnovers in the 23-7 loss.
Despite the rough outing, Dillingham commended Sims for leading ASU to winning three of their last four games this season as a full-time starter in relief of Sam Leavitt.
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“Jeff is an unbelievable human being and person and has all the ability in the world,” Dillingham said. “I feel for him tonight because he’s a great person and he’s going to be a guy that is successful in life and I can almost guarantee that.
“This dude chose to be a Sun Devil. This dude fought and had 200 something yards against Iowa State to keep us alive. This dude battled for Arizona State football and sometimes the ball doesn’t go your way, but I hope that doesn’t define him here, and what defines him here is wanting to be a Sun Devil and fighting, competing and doing whatever he can to try to win games.”
Dillingham said he was proud of his players for what they’ve done for the team over the last few years and raising the excitement and expectations for the program.
“The last two years have been unbelievable and it’s only the beginning,” Dillingham said. “That’s the best part is when you sell out crowds and you start to get excitement. Not everything goes your way but we were way higher than we were (a few years ago), and we are going to continue to build.”
Dillingham added he was grateful for the atmosphere that was at Mountain America Stadium on Friday, and he is confident in the direction the program is heading in.
“We’re in the right direction. One moment does not define the football team,” Dillingham said. “It defines being able to talk (expletive) for a year, which that sucks because we can’t, but it does not define the excitement that was in that stadium and does not define our players.”
Chamon Metayer praises ASU’s competitiveness despite injuries
Senior tight end Chamon Metayer commended ASU’s efforts to stay competitive throughout 2025 despite injuries to key players the team was dealing with before and during the game on Friday.
Metayer praised players such as Sims, offensive lineman Maki Stewart, defensive back Kyan McDonald and wide receiver Malik McClain for stepping in when called upon.
“We going to war with guys that don’t have the experience and we know they’re fighters and we got each other’s backs,” Metayer said.
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