Arizona State Head Coach Kenny Dillingham Postgame Press Conference
Friday, November 28, 2025
On the territorial cup loss and the regular season as a whole
“I told our guys in the locker room, this sucks. It's horrible. Like I have to live in this city, that sucks. I get a year of this game just around. That sucks. That's the best part about this game is you have repercussions for a year. I get to hear about it. But, remove yourself from this moment of misery. I told the group, ‘you guys have done something special. You guys took a program that was dead.’ I had them all raise their hands. Everybody who signed here when we were 3-9, which was anybody who didn't sign here this last year, raise your hand. You guys all came here when we were dead. Absolutely nobody wanted to be here. You guys took a team and did something that hasn't been done in 12 years – went back-to-back eight win seasons. Through all the adversity, you took a team that was dead and did something that hasn't been done since you guys were six, seven, eight-years old. Now we still have an opportunity to go get 20 wins in the last two years, and I couldn't tell you the last (time that happened). I bet you maybe three times in the last 40 years it's probably happened that a team has 20 wins in a combined 2 year span, and that's our goal. 

We have a bowl game – let's go out on an unbelievable note. Let's go finish this season and send our seniors out right. The moment sucks. But like, the body of work… Anybody that doesn't appreciate those guys' body of work, man, you just don't like kids, I guess. Because you've got to appreciate these kids' body of work. And, that's what I appreciate about them. They wanted to be Sun Devils. They stayed Sun Devils. We faced some adversity this year, and we still found a way to win games and I'm so proud of that group. I’m mad at myself, that I didn't get these guys ready enough tonight, but I'm so proud of that group in there. They've changed this program. 

You see the crowd? Unbelievable. That was unbelievable. That environment was as good as any environment. We sold out the entire season. We’re in the right direction. One moment does not define a football team. It sucks. It defines being able to talk shit for a year – which sucks because we can't – but it does not define the direction we're going. It does not define the excitement that was in that stadium. It does not define our players.” 

On what the 2025 team will be remembered as:
“They’re Sun Devils. They want to be Sun Devils, they chose to be Sun Devils. They're gonna be Sun Devils for life. I would just say they're Sun Devils, and they're good Sun Devils. They're one of the most fun teams that this fan base has seen in the last 30 years here. That's what it is. And we'll get wrapped up in the moment and I get it. It's the rivalry, I get it, it's the game you're supposed to win. Trust me, I know. But, like, man, these kids are Sun Devils, I'm so proud of them.” 

On the group of seniors and their impact on the program
“I love those kids. I got emotional out there. They're a special group. Like I said, there’s  really not many times in your life you get the opportunity to change from the bottom. To literally write your own story, and this team did. And guess what? Not all stories end with a happy ending. Sorry, it’s a bad ending. But the story's unbelievable. The story is unbelievable.

Like anybody in this room, three years ago, if I could tell you that the last two years were what we experienced, who would say yes? I think every single person, every single one, if I asked all the ASU people in this room on this day, would you say yes and I'll say no, right? So would I. But the last two years have been unbelievable, and it's only the beginning. That's the best part. When you start to sell out crowds, when you start to build excitement. Not everything goes your way, but we're way higher than we were, and we're going to continue to build, and that's the goal.

It's my job to make sure that even in the lowest moments, we put things in perspective, and this is as low as you can get. But let's put it in perspective. We'd all say yes if I said we could be. Even if we had no season last year, if we just said in year three we'd be 8-4, people would be like, ‘yup, we'll sign up for that.’ These kids are unbelievable. I just love these kids. These kids really set an identity here, and I think the city should remember them for that and be proud that they have activated the values. They really have. And it's only the beginning.” 

On what Arizona did well offensively:
“5 turnovers. That's a lot. We gave them short fields. We had a really good pump block, but we didn't get him to punt enough because of the short fields, and the turnovers negated the punt block that we felt really good about. They stopped the run pretty well for the most part, but we didn't have enough plays, and when you don't have enough plays and your time of possession is 4:00-19:59, that's because of turnovers. Then they get to wear on your defense, so if the defense would have played less snaps, they would have played better statistically, even though they already played really well. But when you turn the ball over 5 times, you give them short fields, and then we didn't flip field position special teams – all of those things put your defense’s back against the wall. You can't have 5 turnovers.”

On who has deserved more recognition over the course of the season:
“I don't want to give (recognition to) one person because I think there's a bunch who deserve it. This is a true team. Like I said, this is a team, and with everything that has happened this year they kept fighting. They fought and fought and fought, and guess what? Today, we got beat by a good football team. Don't forget that part. That's a good football team. They've done a good job as a staff. Those players played hard and they have a really good quarterback. I mean, 28 for 45, 286 yards and 1 touchdown. That kid has been there for 3 years. He led that team to a 10-win year before. The core leaders of that football had a 10-win season and they're back. So, a really good football team. Can't turn it over 5 times.”

 

On what needs to happen for them to continue in a positive trajectory moving forward:
“I think we have to do a good job evaluating people, and keep looking for who we should add in the program. In today's day and age, with the way it's currently set up, it's harder to withstand injuries than it's ever been because it's just the new model of college football. But, I think we're going to have a really good chance to get really good players to add to the program. We've done this before where we had to go get a lot of players. The difference is, our depth and I really like the young guys we have in our program. I feel really good about the guys we've signed and I think those guys are going to get better and better. Even though we have to reload a bit, our depth is much better than it was two or three years ago when we got here, so we don’t have to go crazy anymore. We just have to fill a few spots that we feel like one of the young guys isn't quite ready to play in.”

On if they are in the position to be able to add more players to their roster:
“Yeah, I do. I think we're headed in the right direction there. I think that we're going to be able to go and sign some good players – players that fit us, players that fit our culture, players that want to be Sun Devils, and that'll always be a priority for me – people who want to be here. That message has never changed. Now that we sell out crowds and the games are unbelievable, good or bad, the environment is great. We're a team people talk about, and we're playing a game in week 12 that matters in the Big 12 picture. I think we're going to be an attractive place for a lot of people.”

On the energy that Cam Skattebo and the current roster have brought to the organization:
“Great to see him. Everybody loves Scatt. Scatt was a big piece of this team last year. He's a big piece of Arizona State and will be moving forward. But, like I said, this group of guys right here, they changed the organization. It's pretty cool. They changed an organization. How many people in life can say they changed an organization? A lot of people can join an organization, but a lot of people can't change it. That takes a special group of people. And these guys have done it.”

Arizona State Junior CB Keith Abney II 
On where the program is now compared to where it was two seasons ago:
“It’s crazy seeing the growth of the program. The first year being 3-and-9 and it was just bad. But now we’re upset about four losses. I feel like that shows the change of the culture here that all these guys and people in the locker room that just the standard here just changed. So I definitely say that the standards of just the whole building. We’re just following coach Kenny and we just trust trust them and everything is rising here for sure. 

Arizona State Senior Jordan Crook 
On what was giving the defense trouble:
“Early on it was a matter of wondering what they were going to come out with…I’d say for the first three drives you’re finding your feet, get your feet right. Get an understanding of how they were going to try to play and attack us. I feel once we got settled in, for the most part, we were able to come out and deliver some good stops and play some good defense. 

On playing a lot of snaps and how it takes a toll on their bodies: 
“It what comes with it. Over the course of the season we found ourselves up on the field a lot. So it’s just a matter of acclimating and adjusting. I mean at the end of the day, back against the wall, not letting them score, regardless if we have 40 minutes, 20 minutes, five minutes, five plays, 60 plays. Whether a lot of players or none at all, we’re going to go out there and give it our all.”

Arizona State RS Senior TE Chamon Metayer 
On the offense struggles against Arizona: 
“The challenge was us. We just had to get in our own ways. By the time we figured it out, it was too late. That’s the game of football. We got to capitalize early. We can’t start slow, we cleary did, and the result was 23-7. We got to help our defense out. Got the best linebacker (Jordan Crook) to the left of me and the best corner in the draft to the right (Keith Abney). The amount of times they gave us the ball, we should have capitalized and we failed them tonight.” 

On his viewpoint on where the program is headed:
“Kenny does a great job of setting the culture right. Setting the standard. Like he said, two years ago we were bottom of the barrel. The past 30 years there’s been only two teams to achieve 20 wins, we got 19 right now. We got one more game to make it happen. The program is in great hands. Got vital pieces returning next year that can be a focal point…We still got the guys at the end of the day. If I had another year, I’d be back and do it all again. Continue supporting our football team. At the end of the day, wins or loses, they’re going to come back.” 

Arizona Head Coach Brent Brennan
Opening Statement:
“I think all of our fans and alums that came up from Tucson and the ones here in the greater Phoenix area got what they paid for. All week we talked with our team about how this game was going to turn on our physicality and our discipline, and I thought that showed up tonight in fantastic ways. Offensively, in the first half we had some struggles, but our defense kept playing complimentary football. They kept getting stops, they kept forcing turnovers, and right before the half we were able to get three points, which I thought was really big. Then in the second half, I thought we played great team football. That's the thing I feel about this group. This is an awesome football team, it’s really special this Arizona team. The offense in the second half had a bunch of sustained long drives that kind of kept the ball out of ASU's hands and our defense kept answering and came up with big plays and takeaways. Just an absolute team win. I could not be more proud of us. As you guys know, this game means more to everybody than any other game. It is more important to our players, coaches, university, our fans, and our community. To come up here and get the win was just incredible. I'm excited because now the Territorial Cup is coming back to Tucson, Arizona, where I think all of us Wildcats feel like it belongs, beardown.”

On how they have improved since last year’s Territorial Cup:
“I'm fortunate to be surrounded by awesome people. It starts with alignment with our administration, our president, our athletic director, all the people that are helping us build it. The coaches are fantastic, Coach (Defensive Coordinator Danny) Gonzalez and Coach (Offensive Coordinator Seth) Doege, along with the rest of the assistant coaches, put together good plans. Everyone's going to be talking about our special teams because (Kicker) Michael (Salgado-Medina) missed kicks today, but our special teams have been good all season, and I feel good about that, and I believe in Michael. We'll get that worked out for our next one. I think that when you have a great alignment from top to bottom and everybody is all moving in the same direction, you can do incredible things, and I think that's what's happening for our program right now.”

On how the team’s had success in the second half of games:
“Because this team doesn't quit, this team knows it's a four-quarter game. That's why you play four quarters. We've got a great crew with our strength and conditioning staff, and our team is well conditioned and ready for it. This team practices their butts off every day. As we break down practice, that's a huge emphasis for us is halftime and in the fourth quarter and you have seen it show up the last few weeks.”

Defensive Back Treydan Stukes
On finishing the season 9-3 in the regular season:
“I mean you can definitely find some similarities with the way the season went in 2023. It's just because of this group of guys, we put so much hard work in to get to this point. We just kept attacking week after week, and the team kept getting better and better. I think that's something we had in common with that 2023 team. Every week we just kept improving and we kept finding ourselves more and more each week. I think this team has done a great job doing the same.”

Arizona Defensive Back Dalton Johnson
On the defensive approach going into the game:
“No matter how the outcome of the game is going, we came to play, we didn't come to watch.  We're eager to get out there and I think the front seven and the back five were just clicking really well. We love being on that field together as a unit and we trust in Coach (Danny) Gonzalez and we trust in each other. It makes it easy and fun.”

Arizona Offensive Lineman Chubba Maae
On ending the regular season with a win:
“It's rewarding, all the work you put in. Starting off in the beginning of the year, it’s a brand new team. You have like 30 new guys on the team, not knowing what to expect out of the group and you're just slowly but surely seeing everything come together. Just having faith in each other, building that relationship across both sides of the ball, it's not cliquey. Everybody glues well and you love it for everybody in the room because you know we did it, been through a lot together.”