TEMPE — Sam Leavitt and Arizona State football appear totally aligned in prioritizing the day-by-day process. That, they believe, is a way to avoid complacency and potential trap games.
Since Day 1 on the job, head coach Kenny Dillingham has kept it simple: the goal should be getting the most out of each day. Leavitt has fully bought in by every indication now going into Year 2 as the starter.
“I think that’s one thing that we do really well,” Leavitt said on Tuesday. “We don’t really focus on week two, three, four, five. It’s really just the week at hand.
“That’s one thing I learned that we did really well last year, so I’ve kind of tried to implement that and view every single team the exact same going into the game plan.”
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It’s a mindset that can help, especially in weeks like this, where ASU is matching up against Northern Arizona as a 28.5-point favorite, per FanDuel Sportsbook.
The Sun Devils’ process-oriented approach saw proof of concept when they landed in the College Football Playoff after rattling off five straight regular-season victories with their postseason hopes on the line in each.
They handled their last “trap game” like pros, taking a 35-0 halftime advantage en route to a win over Arizona in the Territorial Cup for that fifth win to help clinch a Big 12 title appearance.
So how is Leavitt setting the tone to make sure the team brings that same energy this fall?
“I’d just say it’s out on the field,” Leavitt said. “Them seeing how I carry myself in the film room, just my demeanor, my presence, being really demanding but at the same time lenient in some aspects so I don’t come off as a dictator, things like that.
“My team feels the presence, and honestly, it’s just the whole team. Coach Dillingham does a great job, (offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo comes) locked and loaded every single day, so it really stems from the (coaching staff).”
Arroyo said there’s “inherently a rub-off” when Leavitt’s approach is on display for his teammates.
“If he’s here every day early and I’m the guy coming right after that and I’m seeing him every day early and then when I leave he’s still here … it starts to become contagious,” Arroyo said. “And you get a lot of guys who are really developing the dark-hour type of mentality and put in the extra work — yeah it can definitely be an influence.”
Arizona State stays in the present but doesn’t dismiss history
While the focus is down to the minute for “99%” of the time, Dillingham said he will address the big picture with his team when needed. It’s important that the team attacks certain narratives as a group, he added.
Last year, it was the team being picked to finish 16th in the Big 12.
This year, it’s the last five decades of history ASU faces. The program has struggled to sustain blips of football success. The Big 12 conference has never had repeat champions except for now-departed Oklahoma.
“When there’s 50 years of history, that’s not an accident,” Dillingham said after a stadium scrimmage during fall camp.
Over the last five decades, ASU has been ranked in the top 15 of the preseason AP poll seven times, including this year’s No. 11 ranking.
The Sun Devils finished all but one of those previous six seasons unranked. The exception was in 1987, when it started 14th and finished 20th.
“You know how to solve it? Go to work today and repeat, repeat, repeat,” Dillingham said Monday.
“I think that is the constant challenge here. Is this our best Monday that we’ve ever had in program history? Can we say we were more focused today? And if we can do that, we can have a Tuesday (that’s the same), then who knows where it’s going to end up?”
Catch ASU-NAU on Saturday at 7 p.m. MST on the Arizona Sports app, ESPN 620 AM or 98.7 FM HD-2. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
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