Sun Devils Coach Kenny Dillingham 'Excited' to Play Red Raiders in Lubbock

The Texas Tech Red Raiders host the Arizona State Sun Devils in ASU's first-ever Big 12 matchup since their move to the expanded conference this season.

The Sun Devils were in the Pac-12 conference from 1978 through 2023 and this is their inaugural season in the Big 12 alongside the Red Raiders, and ASU coach Kenny Dillingham is excited to come to Lubbock to kick off their Big 12 membership against Tech.

“Their fans are diehard fans, it’s a college town. It is going to be an unbelievable environment for our guys to play in and that’s the exciting part about joining the Big 12 is the environments we play in,” Dillingham said.

Dillingham has had his work cut out for him as he enters his second year in Tempe. He follows former coach Herm Edwards, who was fired after the 2022 campaign amid recruiting violations. Dillingham and the Sun Devils were slapped with NCAA sanctions that included reduced scholarships, but Dillingham and Arizona State finished last year with a 3-9 record that included a big win over then-conference powerhouse UCLA.

Dillingham has his team at 3-0 as they arrive in Lubbock, coming off a win over Texas State. But the Sun Devils struggled against the Bobcats, and Dillingham said it humbled the team.

“I think last week was humbling,” Dillingham said. “I thought we played absolutely horrible, specifically in the first half. Even though it was a short week, it’s not good for us as a staff, it’s not good for the players on the field, it’s not good for anybody and it starts with me…

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Both of our sides of the ball are more schemed-up schemes than we are just roll the ball out and we can go. That short week was probably harder on us than other teams just because of how we play offense and defense.”

The Red Raiders and Sun Devils match up at Jones AT&T Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on FS1.

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