Last season, the Arizona State Sun Devils quite literally came out of nowhere. No one expected them to be that good, and certainly no one expected them to win the Big 12 Championship. However, the life of the underdog was embodied by the Sun Devils last season — but to head coach Kenny Dillingham, that makes it less fun.

“It's actually less fun," Dillingham said of going from underdog to favorite. "It's more motivating for people to say that you suck. It's way more difficult when people say you're good. I'm not actually one who likes to hear how good you are anyway, so for me it's uncomfortable. I'd rather be the underdog, somebody people count out, so this is uncomfortable to get that positive praise,” Dillingham said.

One of the most notable players from Dillingham’s squad last season was running back Cam Skattebo. Even though he is gone, the head coach still believes he will be a big part of the program.

“He broke the team down today because it's probably the last time he'll be here before he's a pro athlete. Skatt's gonna be around this program for a long time,” Dillingham said.

Dillingham is a favorite all around college football. After one season of great football, the Arizona State head coach doesn’t think this is just the year of the Sun Devils — he is confident it is the decade of them.

“You have Clemson this last cycle, from 2010 to 2020. They just showed up. People think they’ve been around forever. You have Oregon from 2000 to 2010... There hasn’t been a team in this era, in the 2020s. The lifestyle you have in Arizona, if we can create some staff consistency, and then we’re in a league where we can continually compete to win,” Dillingham stated.

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The Sun Devils will have pressure on them coming off last year’s success, but it is up to them to keep the momentum going. Dillingham is confident in the program he is building in Tempe and he believes they will be in the top of college football.