Deion Sanders showed his class with a message to Kenny Dillingham after Arizona State suffered a heartbreaking defeat to Texas in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day.
The Sun Devils were double-digit underdogs in Atlanta against No. 3 Texas, but they were in position to claim a huge upset victory after star running back Cam Skattebo put them ahead in overtime.
But faced with fourth-and-long, Longhorns QB Quinn Ewers hit Matthew Golden in the endzone to tie it up. And moments later, Texas was in front thanks to a Gunnar Helm touchdown in the second period of overtime.
Arizona State, which battled back from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to force overtime, could not respond this time, though. Quarterback Sam Leavitt was picked off by safety Andrew Mukuba for a game-ending interception, sealing a 39-31 victory for Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Texas will face Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10, but Arizona State’s incredible season is over, and Colorado head coach Sanders was quick to pay tribute to Dillingham’s efforts with the Sun Devils this season dubbing him the Coach of the Year.
“You represented all of us from the Big 12 well, my brother,” Sanders posted on social media. We are proud of you and your team. God bless you all. Youre awesome. COTY [Coach of the Year].” Dillingham replied: “Thank you coach!”
Dillingham, 34, has masterminded an incredible turnaround for his program since taking charge last year. After a difficult 3-9 season, the Sun Devils were predicted to finish rock bottom of the Big 12 ahead of this season.
Instead, they went 11-3 in 2024, winning the Big 12 championship over Iowa State with Skattebo, who finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, emerging as one of the star names in college football.
Dillingham was quick to recognize it was a huge achievement just to qualify for the College Football Playoff, but he could not conceal the pain of missing out on a place in the semifinals by the tightest of margins.
“Now that it’s over, when you can reflect on where these guys have come, it’s an incredible testament to the team,” Dillingham said. “But golly, this one sucks.”
Dillingham took the blame for Texas’ game-tying touchdown on fourth-and-13 in overtime. Theres a lot of things that Ive got to do better to help our guys to win the football game, he said.
“Thats one of the many things that as I reflect, Ive got to be better because our guys played good enough to win. Our guys battled good enough to win and this game is 100 percent on me.
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