Going into the 2024 season, the Arizona State Sun Devils were well aware of what outsiders thought of their football program.
Media projected ASU to finish last in the 16-team Big 12 Conference. Those that didn’t have the Sun Devils at the bottom had them close to it. Nobody projected the Sun Devils to be anywhere near as good as they were, but now comes the hard part: maintaining success.
This summer, BuffZone is previewing each of Colorado’s opponents for the 2025 season and in this installment we look at Arizona State, which will visit the Buffs on Nov. 22 in Boulder.
In 2024, led by second-year head coach Kenny Dillingham, tough-as-nails running back Cam Skattebo and young quarterback Sam Leavitt, ASU shocked the college football world by going 11-3, winning the Big 12 title and landing in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The expectations aren’t low coming into this year. In fact, ASU is widely viewed as a top-15 team nationally, even with Skattebo now playing for the NFL’s New York Giants.
“People think we’re good, which is way different, for one,” Dillingham said in a recent interview on ESPN about the difference from a year ago. “That’s the funny thing about this world right now, with the transfer portal and all these other teams changing; you never know how good you are.
“We definitely have a different type of adversity this year and that adversity is people telling us that we are good, even though, who knows nowadays?”
There’s no question ASU rode some momentum last year and Skattebo was the heart of the team. Dillingham said he hopes Skattebo’s mentality is still a part of the 2025 Sun Devils.
“I want our team to play with more passion. I want people to see our passion. I want people to feel our passion,” Dillingham said. “The way he played the game, with his passion and energy, is definitely what I hope this team continues to carry on.”
Even without Skattebo, ASU looks to be loaded and will be one of the favorites to win the Big 12.
Seven starters return on offense, including Leavitt, a sophomore who is one of the top quarterbacks in the country. Leavitt guided an offense that ranked 30th nationally in scoring (32.9 points per game) and 28th in yards (429.4 per game).
Also back is receiver Jordyn Tyson, a former CU Buff who had a breakout season in 2024, racking up 1,101 yards; tight end Chamon Metayer; and four of the five regular starters on the offensive line.
To replace Skattebo at running back, ASU will look to Kyson Brown, who had 351 yards in a backup role last year; Raleek Brown, who missed most of the year with injury; and transfer Kanye Udoh, who rushed for 1,117 yard and 10 touchdowns (6.2 yards per carry) at Army last year.
Defensively, the Sun Devils were top-40 nationally in points allowed (22.6 per game) and yards allowed (339.6) last year. Nickel back Shamari Simmons, the team’s defensive MVP the last two years, is gone, but nine starters are back, including three that earned first or second-team All-Big 12.
Perhaps most important is that ASU has shown full buy-in to the 35-year-old Dillingham, who in 2023 took over a 3-9 program rocked by off-the-field problems. He got the Sun Devils to shock the world last year. Now he has to keep them on top.
“If you’re being told you’re not good, you naturally want to work,” he said. “What happens when people tell you that you’re good? What’s your response then? Are you satisfied with what you hear, or are you driven to do more? I think that’s the challenge for this team this year.
“We return so many guys. So many other teams in our league and across the country have made their teams better that the (ASU) team from last year is not going to accomplish it. We have to be better. We have to do more. … We can’t be satisfied with just who we were or what we are right now.”
Arizona State Sun Devils
Head coach: Kenny Dillingham, 3rd season (14-12)
2024 season: 11-3, 7-2 Big 12; Beat Iowa State, 45-19, in Big 12 title game; lost to Texas, 39-31 (OT) in CFP quarterfinals
Series with CU: ASU leads 10-4
Matchup with the Buffs: Saturday, Nov. 22 (TBA), at Folsom Field in Boulder
5 Guys to Watch
S Xavion Alford: He’s found a home at ASU, earning a starting job last year and securing first-team All-Big 12 honors. He posted 85 tackles, two interceptions and five pass breakups. Played at Texas in 2021 and USC in 2022 before transferring to ASU in 2023 (sitting out that season for the now-outdated NCAA transfer rule).
LB Keyshaun Elliott: Earned second-team All-Big 12 last year, with 65 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. Prior to ASU, he spent two years at New Mexico State. In 2023 at NMSU, he had 111 tackles, 10 TFLs and 2.5 sacks, earning second-team all-conference honors.
QB Sam Leavitt: After spending his first year at Michigan State, he came to ASU last year, won the starting job and had a sensational year, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. He completed 61.7% of his passes for 2,885 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions, while also finishing second on the team with 443 rushing yards (and five TD).
TE Chamon Metayer: Caught 32 passes for 306 yards and five touchdowns last year, earning second-team All-Big 12 honors. Began his career with three seasons at Cincinnati before transferring to Colorado in December of 2023. He spent the spring 2024 semester at CU before jumping to ASU.
WR Jordyn Tyson: Flashing the star potential he showed at CU in 2022, Tyson was first-team All-Big 12 last year, hauling in 75 receptions for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns. As a true freshman at CU in 2022, he caught 22 passes for 470 yards and four TD (and had a punt return TD) before a season-ending knee injury that also kept him out in 2023.
Good to know
• ASU won the first seven meetings against the Buffs (from 2006-2015), but CU has won four of the last seven.
• Although CU and ASU have been conference rivals since 2011, the Sun Devils have been to Boulder just once since 2018, securing a 42-34 victory on Oct. 29, 2022. Tyson, then a CU true freshman, had a huge game, with five catches for 115 yards and a touchdown and an 88-yard punt return for touchdown.
• Dillingham is the second-youngest head coach in the FBS, as he turned 35 on April 28. The only coach younger than him is Florida Atlantic’s Zach Kittley (who turns 34 on Aug. 14). Dillingham is a Phoenix native and ASU alum.
• The Sun Devils have seven home games this year, including four of the last six. They were 6-0 at home last year.
• ASU struggled on field goals last year, going 15-of-23 overall (65.2%) with three different kickers. To fix that, the Sun Devils added Jesus Gomez from Eastern Michigan. Over the last three years, he hit 46 of 58 field goals (79.3%), including 20 of 25 last year. He is 6-for-11 from 50-plus, with a long of 57 yards.
Portal movement
Per 247Sports.com, the Sun Devils lost 22 players to the transfer portal and added 17. None of the departures were significant contributors last year, although cornerback Laterrance Welch (now at UNLV) did have two interceptions within the 175 snaps he played. There could be several key players among the 17 coming in. The Sun Devils loaded up with a trio of receivers in Jaren Hamilton (Alabama), Noble Johnson (Clemson) and Jalen Moss (Fresno State). Former Mississippi, Colorado and Purdue corner Kyndrich Breedlove could be a starter, while Nyland Green (Purdue) and Adrian Wilson (Washington State) could compete for starting roles in the secondary. Running back Kanye Udoh (Army), offensive lineman Jimeto Obigbo (Texas State), and defensive lineman MyKeil Gardner (Oregon) may also push for starting jobs, while Jesus Gomez (Eastern Michigan) is the new kicker.