Arizona State’s football program is on the doorstep of greatness. Except that door is double bolted, made of titanium and guarded by a pack of pit bulls on the other side. Getting in will require a Herculean feat.
Such facts were laid bare following Saturday’s nauseating loss to Houston. A loss that likely means no encore performance in the College Football Playoff. A loss that likely means surrendering the Big 12 throne after one magical season.
Naturally, disappointment is profound. We must remember that the only thing ASU lost was a football game, something temporary and not permanent. Reason must prevail over emotion.
The Sun Devils went nearly a calendar year without a Big 12 loss. They won 10 consecutive home games. They sold out every ticket for the 2025-26 season. These are powerful indicators of a football program on the rise, one that cannot be derailed by one underwhelming season.
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With every passing week, head coach Kenny Dillingham is gaining wisdom, experience and insight. He’s piecing together a very complicated puzzle. We are all beginning to realize the heavy lifting required to be a perennial powerhouse in college football.
It takes incredible commitment on every level – administration, coaches, players, donors and fans. It means you have to win roughly 83% of your games every single year. It’s expensive, exhilarating and exhausting.
As usual, Dillingham was in focus and on point in the aftermath of Saturday’s crushing loss. He told his players they were all living in a reality show that can flip from penthouse to outhouse overnight and cautioned his players to stay away from the noise on social media and the expectations of others.
“Everybody expects everybody to go undefeated,” Dillingham told the media. “Everybody expects everybody to win their conference. It’s impossible. It’s a math problem that can’t possibly be done.
“So, I tell the guys: ‘If you get lost in people making you the reality show, this thing is going to be miserable for you as a player.”
Great advice, especially in Arizona, a state that ranks No. 1 in brain rot. According to a recent study, the average American spends an average of six hours and 35 minutes per day online, scrolling the equivalent of 86 miles every year. Arizonans top the charts at 8:50 minutes a day, and a whopping 115 miles of scrolling per year, which is roughly the distance between Phoenix and Tucson.
Such addiction always brings out the darkness. And on social media, ASU’s football team is feeling the backlash.
Just remember that Dillingham and ASU are playing the long game. And in college football, it’s easier to awaken a sleeping giant than sustain him. Especially when the grocery bills are through the roof.
Reach Bickley at [email protected]. Listen to Bickley & Marotta weekdays from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7
Follow @danbickley
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