Arizona State won by 18 on Saturday, but you wouldn't know that after listening to Kenny Dillingham, who sounded more like a coach coming off a loss.
Speaking to reporters in Tempe earlier this week, the Sun Devils head coach laid out how he wants his team to be described, and it has nothing to do with individual names or last year's results because in his mind there's a big difference in how good teams and bad teams are described.
"Bad teams are described by individual talent. Great teams are described by the culture and the mindset of the organization," Dillingham shared.
"That's what we're on the hunt for. We want to be described as a group. It can't be described as what we were in the past. It's got to be described as what we are now."
The comments follow a two-week stretch that tested the program. On October 3, Baylor came into Mountain America Stadium and left with a 55-19 win, ASU's largest margin of defeat since joining the Big 12. The Bears piled up 564 total yards and 244 rushing yards, the most the Sun Devils have allowed in either category this season. Afterward, Dillingham put the responsibility of that performance squarely on himself.
"I am not maximizing the team that we have," he said.
A week later, ASU beat Hawaii 30-12, with offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo taking back the playcalling duties from Dillingham. Freshman running back Cardae Mack, celebrating his 19th birthday, ran for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries, the most rushing yards by an ASU freshman since 2005. Quarterback Cutter Boley went 21 of 31 for 189 yards and two scores, both to Reed Harris, who finished with eight catches for 91 yards.
Dillingham's one-word review of the win was "Blah."
"I think we're better than that. I think we can get better," he said.
The "what we were in the past" line hits differently in Tempe. Dillingham, an ASU alum, took over at his alma mater in 2023 and went 3-9 in his first season. One year later, ASU went 11-3, won the Big 12 title in its first season in the league and reached the Peach Bowl, and Dillingham was named Big 12 Coach of the Year. The Sun Devils followed that with an 8-5 season in 2025, going 6-3 in conference play before losing in the Sun Bowl.
ASU sits at 3-2 and 1-1 in the Big 12, with wins over Morgan State, Kansas in London and Hawaii, and losses at Texas A&M and at home to Baylor. The schedule doesn't ease up. The Sun Devils travel to #11 Texas Tech on Saturday, host Kansas State on October 24, then head to #8 BYU on October 31.
Three weeks is a short window to find out what this group is now and if they'll be known for the name on the back of their jersey, or the one on the front.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.