Dillingham Demands Passion as Arizona State Faces Top-10 Texas Tech in Big 12 Showdown

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham didn’t mince words after his team’s 30-12 win over Hawaii. The Sun Devils (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) had just secured a victory, yet Dillingham stood at the podium and told reporters the game film revealed a team lacking the very identity he demands.

“I want our football team, when people turn on the tape, I want the opposing coach to describe us as playing with passion and energy,” Dillingham said. “(Texas Tech) Coach (Joey) McGuire can go in there and show clips of us and say, ‘Listen, this team plays physical, and this team plays hard.’ And he’s lying to himself. That’s not what the tape shows.”

The blunt assessment frames the stakes for Saturday’s trip to Lubbock, where the Sun Devils face the No. 9/10 Red Raiders (5-0, 2-0) — the defending Big 12 champions — at Jones AT&T Stadium. Arizona State enters as a double-digit underdog, a familiar position after last season’s 26-22 upset of then-No. 7 Texas Tech in Tempe handed the Red Raiders their first loss of 2023.

That result has only sharpened Texas Tech’s focus. McGuire’s program returned 18 starters from a team that finished 7-6 but won the conference title, and the Red Raiders have navigated a non-conference slate that included a road win at North Texas and a statement victory over Arizona in Tucson. Quarterback Behren Morton, a Lubbock native, has completed 72% of his passes with 13 touchdowns against two interceptions, while the defense ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring allowance at 17.4 points per game.

Dillingham’s frustration stems from a pattern. The Sun Devils opened with wins over Wyoming and Mississippi State, then absorbed a 45-17 drubbing at Texas A&M that exposed depth issues on both lines. A 31-24 loss to Baylor in the conference opener featured three turnovers and a defense that surrendered 214 rushing yards. The Hawaii win, while comfortable on the scoreboard, did little to quiet concerns about consistent intensity.

“We can be that, but that’s not who we are right now,” Dillingham said of the physical, passionate standard. “The thing that we’re not is something that we can make a change in any waking moment we choose. All we gotta do is say yes. That’s it. As a whole football team, say yes. This is who we’re gonna be.”

Two freshmen offered a glimpse of that identity against Hawaii. Running back Cardae Mack, on his 19th birthday, gashed the Rainbow Warriors for 154 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries — the most rushing yards by an ASU freshman since Keegan Herring’s 197 against Oregon State in 2005. His 67-yard touchdown sprint in the third quarter displayed the explosiveness that earned him Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors. Defensive lineman Julian Hugo added a sack and consistent penetration, drawing specific praise from Dillingham for his “juice and passion.”

“You saw Cardae out there; you saw passion. You saw Julian out there,” Dillingham said. “There was some juice and passion out there from the young guys that I really enjoyed, but we as a football team have to figure that piece out.”

The return of two starting offensive linemen could stabilize a unit that has shuffled combinations all season. Right guard Wade Helton, sidelined since an ankle injury at Texas A&M on Sept. 7, practiced fully this week. Center Tana Ala-Tupuola, who missed the Hawaii game for what Dillingham termed “personal reasons,” is also expected to start. Their presence should help a running game that averages 184 yards per game but has struggled in short-yardage situations.

Linebacker Owen Long continues to anchor the defense. The senior collected 10 tackles against Hawaii for his third consecutive double-digit tackle game, earning his second Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award this season. Long sits five tackles shy of 250 for his career, ranking among the top 15 active FBS players. The defense held Hawaii to 64 rushing yards and a 7-of-19 third-down conversion rate.

Dillingham hinted at “drastic” changes to practice structure this week without elaborating, suggesting he may increase contact periods or alter the schedule to simulate the hostile environment awaiting in Lubbock. Jones AT&T Stadium has long been one of the conference’s toughest road venues, with the Red Raiders posting a 22-6 home record since McGuire’s arrival in 2022.

“If we don’t find it, people are going to have to go back to old film to try and motivate them to play us,” Dillingham said. “And right now I can guarantee you, people are going back to old film to try and tell their guys, this is what they’re about. We need it to be where they’re watching our current film. They’re watching right now, and we got to get teams to watch our current stuff. Not what we were, not the ghost of the past, the right now.”

Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. MST on FOX. The game marks Arizona State’s first road test against a ranked opponent since the 2021 season at Utah.