Arizona State Head Coach Kenny Dillingham Postgame Press Conference:
Saturday, October 18, 2025
On responding after last week’s loss to Utah:
"Over the last year and a half, we've proven that that's not us. And if you get too caught up in the outside noise, you can get convinced of something you're not, and you can't get convinced of something you're not. You have to self-correct when you realize that maybe you've miscalculated and steered in the wrong direction? Yeah, that's what you got to do. But that doesn't mean that you're going in the wrong direction, just means you may be five degrees, seven degrees off. And I think good programs don't turn left or right, they just turn a little bit. And all we did is the exact same practice. So we didn't turn the ship in a different direction, we just moved it five to seven degrees. And the guys responded today.”

On Jordyn Tyson and Sam Leavitt’s work ethic:
"It's just a testament to the way he (Jordyn) and Sam work. They work, they care, they prepare, they do everything they can to get on the field. JT (Tyson) is probably going to be up here at the crack of dawn tomorrow in the ice tub. That's what they do. This dude sitting next to me (Leavitt), I've never been around a guy who just works to try to win football games as much as he does on and off the field. He just does everything he can for this football team. And in the biggest moments, he makes the biggest plays.”

On adjusting the plan going into this game:
"You got to just self reflect. Nobody's perfect. So the goal is, you can't worry about what you didn't do as well as you wanted to. It's frustrating, but you have to worry about how to fix problems. Continually talking about a problem doesn't solve it. I'm a big believer in finding problems, and then finding what you have to do to solve it. Some people just like to complain, that's not a good way to get better. You have to find solutions to problems. So it beat me up and beat me up a lot, but I sat down, I called some people. I called two coaches that I knew that I have a lot of respect for when I said, “Hey, this is the situation we're in. We got guys dinged up. We've got guys in green jerseys. We're not as physical as we were. We're a veteran team. I've never been in this situation, help,” and I took their advice and we did it. I wish I could even take credit for how we changed practice. I just listened to other people who have been through this, and I think that's what every player goes through too. You're just constantly listening to people that can make you better.”

On how this win sets the momentum moving forward :
"I think anytime you have a win like this, it rejuvenates your program, especially after the embarrassment last week.  I still am not going to talk about it, because I'm still so embarrassed by it. So anytime you can have a win like this, it can definitely put you in the right direction. But the key is, it doesn't make you complacent. The reason we could win this game is because we lost the game prior. We don't win this game if we beat Utah, we don't win this game if we have it close to Utah, we only won this game because we were so embarrassed that our guys have a different level of intensity and focus, and we found it. And now the challenge is, through the praise, can we continue to have it? And so I would say it can. It's a positive, but it can also be a negative if we don't use it to continue to drive.”

On how Sam Leavitt has improved:
“It's unbelievable. Sometimes you don't know that something could be a blessing. I think the fact that he did hurt his lower leg forced him to throw and play the game a little bit differently. And I think it clicked. And the last two games have been his best two games, in my opinion, of doing that because he hasn't had to play with his legs all the time. There's the song “God's greatest gift is unanswered prayers,” I think this situation that put him through could have been one of those settings.”

Arizona State Quarterback Sam Leavitt
On his relationship with Dillingham:
“You talk about a coach that just knows his players well, so he knows how to approach you in those moments. Talk about someone who talks about every single scenario there is. As soon as I come in, we're watching Miami versus Louisville, right before half, and there's a little debate on what they should have done with the clock management. We're just coming in right there at the meeting, and I'm talking about what I think we should do versus what he thinks. And that's what happens on game day. We're just on the same page. So it's one of the best situations for me to plan.”

On the game-winning drive:
 “We had done really well with control, passing all game. So going into those two minutes, there wasn't too much worry there. I was just getting our guys dialed, no pre-snap penalties or holdings, just taking care of the ball. We drive down the field, and then I just really have to meet it, put the ball in their hands and have them make plays. That's what happened. Up front, I was really proud of the guys, but we had some guys dinged up, and people had to step up. Had a true freshman in there, he came out and played really well. So all props to them.”

On preparing to play after missing the game at Utah: 
“Missing last week was rough. I remember we were driving on the bus on the way to the game, and obviously we're in Arizona, so it doesn't really get fall weather out here. So we get there,  and leaves are falling, and it feels like real football. So we're on the way to the stadium, and I got my headphones on. I just started balling, because it's just a game. I put my everything into it. I couldn't be out there for my guys. It's really rough on me, but I try to do my best for them. And then it really just gave extra motivation going into this weekend sitting in the cold tub room before this game, we got those same emotions and it kind of helped propel me to this one.”

On Jaren Hamilton’s performance :
“The kid can really roll. He's been coming to work for a while now, and we’ve been challenging him in a lot of ways. There are some people who when the lights come on, they make plays, and he's one of those guys. So really proud of him. He brings really positive energy every single day. I really like the kid and he shows up on game day.”

Arizona State RB Raleek Brown 
On Intensifying Practice ahead of Texas Tech:
“It helped a lot. On Wednesday, I never felt like that the whole season. The practice felt different because usually a Wednesday is a little slow, shorter, a little calmer, but Wednesday’s practice felt more like a Tuesday practice. I felt it, we for sure played physical the whole week at practice, way more physical.”

Arizona State LB Keyshaun Elliott
On Bouncing Back From Utah Loss: 
“Coming off of our game versus Utah, it was embarrassing. We got embarrassed, that wasn’t us. I can speak for the defense, we did things that were not like us. We were missing a bunch of tackles, Everybody’s not on the same page at the right time. I’d say it was a good bounce-back week but it all started Tuesday at practice we came out ready to go. We’re tackling in the second period even though we just woke up thirty minutes ago. It kind of set the standard, set the tone for the week. I’m glad to see it showing up on Saturday.”

Arizona State WR Jordan Tyson
On His Mindset after Texas Tech Took the Lead Fourth Quarter:
“Just go score. I feel like we try and overcomplicate and think too much and hype ourselves up. You got to just focus on your own 11.”

On his Fourth Quarter Fourth and One Play: 
“I saw him roll out and I just went up. He tucked the ball in there he seemed to go up, untucked it and threw it.”

Arizona State S Adrian “Boogie” Wilson
On his Goal for This Week: 
“The whole thing for me this week was to show that we’re physical, to show that we pass, to show that we like to play physical. For me it’s just being physical.”

Texas Tech Head Coach Joey McGuire Postgame Press Conference:
Saturday, October 18, 2025

Head Coach Joey McGuire's Opening Statement:
“Well, hats off to Arizona State. I thought they played really well, especially defensively. I thought they were one of the better tackling teams. That's what I said to Kenny after the game. I thought that was one of the better tackling defenses we have faced. They didn’t let a lot of extra yards go after contact or yards after catch, which we’ve been really good at this year. I thought they did a great job. We just missed on too many opportunities, early we were holding them to field goals, and then we just didn’t counter with any kind of scores. I hate it. I hate being in a locker room and feeling like I let the guys down, but the one thing I said to them is just like coming off a win, you’ve got to come back Sunday and look at the film and learn from it. We’ve got to do the same thing. It’s just a lot harder to do whenever you lose, and the big thing is our goal is to keep winning and earn our way into the Big 12 Championship, and that doesn’t change anything with the loss today. It just makes it a little bit more difficult, and we’ve got to fight our way back.”

On how he felt like he let the team down:
“I felt like we were ready to play. In the first half, they did a great job schematically with some deep balls to (WR Jaren Hamilton). So, looking at that and how we could adjust, I thought we did in the second half and limited some of that. That last long pass was more of a scramble, and we lost (WR Jordyn Tyson), which you can't do. Offensively, going back and pushing the ball a little bit more downfield, we talked to Mack (Leftwich, Offensive Coordinator) about doing that. When we were down there and they stopped us on fourth down, we checked to a speed option and had a pretty decent play, and we thought we had it. That was on me, not Mack, and I’m really frustrated, not winning and not playing well enough to win. They played better than we did, and they played well enough to win.”

On if the game plan going in was tailored to QB Will Hammond’s strengths:
“We were trying to favor his strengths, trying to get him going early. I’m telling you, if you go back with all the teams that we’ve played up to this point, that’s a really good tackling defense. They do a good job of stopping the run, they did a good job today of limiting some runs. I thought they did a really good job of coming off blocks and limiting plays that you would think were four or five yard gains into two yard gains, and that was a big part of it. One thing — that quarterback (Sam Leavitt) changes everything. He’s a difference maker. He’s one of the best in the country, and he played really well today. He threw for 319 (yards), and I thought he did a good job with his feet whenever he needed to. I know everybody rallies around him, so they’re a different team whenever he’s playing and he’s back there. We just did not play well enough today to win the football game.”

Texas Tech Senior Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez
On what the next 24-hour period will look like for the team:
“We have a 24-hour rule, whether we win or lose, to reflect on the game. This one sucks, but we'll watch the film and dive into it. There are a lot of areas to improve in all three phases of the game. So I think we'll come in, get back to work tomorrow, and business as usual. We'll just keep moving on, and that's kind of what you got to do in a long season.”

On whether there were any bright spots from the defense:
“I think we gave great effort. I think all those guys can hang their heads on flying around to the football. We had some tough breaks on third down and fourth down, they were able to convert. But that’s what you get when you play a good football team. They’re going to make plays, and you just have to be able to get to the next one.”

Texas Tech junior Wide Receiver Coy Eakin
On what the next 24-hour period will look like for the team:
“We get 24 hours to celebrate a win or 24 hours to, you know, mourn a loss, but then once 24 hours is up, you move on to the next. So that’s kind of the plan right now—get back to Lubbock and then watch film, see what we did good, see what we did bad, what we left on the table. And after 24 hours is up, it’s on to the next OSU.”

On what he thought about QB WIll Hammond’s performance:
“The kid is a dog. My first year playing as a starter I was extremely nervous every game. He’s never nervous. He’s out there, he executes the game plan, and it will all fall. He just needs to keep going, and I think he played great. We just left some things on the table as a whole, not just on offense.”