Sun Devils, picked to finish last a year ago, instead won the Big 12 title. What will they do in 2025? ASU enters 2025 season with high hopes.
Editor’s note: First in a series previewing each team in the Big 12 in 2025.
Arizona State’s performance last season could well be the reason why the Big 12 decided to forgo its annual preseason poll this year.
The conference’s media members had egg on their face after voting the Sun Devils 16th out of 16 teams in the Big 12, only for Arizona State to shock the nation by winning the conference.
Kenny Dillingham inherited a mess after Herm Edwards was fired in 2022 and basically had to rebuild the program from scratch.
The Sun Devils went 3-9 in Dillingham’s first year, and although progress was made in the transfer portal and on the recruiting trail, I figured Arizona State still had an upward climb ahead of it, though the Sun Devils could reach bowl eligibility in 2024.
Arizona State blew past that prediction, clinching its spot in the Big 12 championship game with a 10-2 record and blowing out Iowa State in the title game to secure the program’s first trip to the College Football Playoff.
In an instant-classic Peach Bowl against Texas, do-it-all running back Cameron Skattebo accounted for 242 total yards — even throwing a 42-yard touchdown pass — as the Sun Devils charged back from a 24-8 deficit to send the game into overtime.
Though Texas won in double-overtime, it was one of the most successful seasons ever for the Sun Devils and reignited the fanbase in Tempe.
What will Dillingham and the Sun Devils do as an encore?
Arizona State has a lot going for it in its quest to repeat as Big 12 champions, returning eight starters on offense and nine on defense.
Of course, one of the three offensive starters from the 2024 team that isn’t returning, Skattebo, is going to be hard to replace. He was the heart and soul of the Sun Devils, and rushed for 1,712 yards and 21 scores.
Arizona State brings back Kyson Brown (351 yards and two TDs) and will get a healthy Raleek Brown back, who was hurt much of last season and redshirted. They also added Kanye Udoh from Army, who rushed for 1,117 yards with 10 touchdowns.
“I think they all have a different skill set that they can provide to mitigate what we’re losing in Scat because not one person can replace Scat,” Dillingham said. “His play style was so unique that you have to have multiple people replace him.”
Sam Leavitt, who had a great redshirt freshman season (2,885 yards and 24 TDs with 443 yards and five scores rushing), is poised to be one of the top quarterbacks in the conference this season, and the Sun Devils could strike through the air more often with no Skattebo.
He has four starters returning on the offensive line, and a returning star wide receiver in Jordan Tyson (1,101 yards and 10 TDs).
“He’s gained over 10 pounds and he’s a mile and a half faster than he was this time last year because he’s preparing like a pro,” Dillingham said.
On defense, the Sun Devils bring back a ton from their 2024 rebuilt defense that held opponents to just 22.6 points per game.
Nearly all of their defensive line, including defensive end Clayton Smith (4.5 sacks) and defensive tackle CJ Fife (two sacks), is back for the 2025 campaign.
The strength of the defense may be the backfield, as starting safeties Xavion Alford (85 tackles, two interceptions) and Myles Rowser (98 tackles, one sack, four pass breakups) and starting cornerbacks Shamari Simmons (72 tackles, one interception) and Keith Abney II (52 tackles, three interceptions) all return.
If Arizona State can replace Skattebo’s production on offense, Leavitt continues to progress and the defense can pick up where it left off from last season, the Sun Devils could be right back in the mix for another Big 12 title.
“We really didn’t do anything special,” Dillingham said of winning last year’s Big 12 title.
“We did something that’s actually normal. We were just the team that accomplished that normal that year. What would be special would be to continue to build off of that. The real challenge was how do we not become what normal teams in our situation do, which is fall back to where we’ve always been.”
Arizona State Sun Devils 2025 preview
- 2024 record: 11-3 (7-2 Big 12)
2025 Schedule
- Aug. 30: NAU
- Sept. 6: at Mississippi State
- Sept. 13: Texas State
- Sept. 20: at Baylor
- Sept. 27: TCU
- Oct. 4: Bye
- Oct. 11: at Utah
- Oct. 18: Texas Tech
- Oct. 25: Houston
- Nov. 1: at Iowa State
- Nov. 8: Bye
- Nov. 15: West Virginia
- Nov. 22: at Colorado
- Nov. 28: Arizona
Category: General Sports
