No. 11 Arizona State kicks off the 2025 season at home in Tempe against Northern Arizona, and head coach Kenny Dillingham has heard all he can handle about how difficult it will be to repeat in the Big 12.History does support the idea of the steep degree of difficulty in going back-to-back in the conference. Only Oklahoma, now in the SEC, has ever done it.”We’ve used that quite a bit this year. I explain to our guys just the challenge that we have ahead of us. Only one team in the great history of the conference, but no other team has had this guy (Sam Leavitt) as their quarterback, and that’s what gives me some peace,” Dillingham said in a recent appearance on ESPN.In their debut Big 12 Conference campaign, the Sun Devils went on a late-season, six-game winning streak that carried them to the league title. It was the first outright championship for an Arizona State team since 1996. The championship resulted in a first-ever College Football Playoff appearance for ASU, which ended its season with a quarterfinal overtime loss to Texas.The Sun Devils enter the 2025 season replacing the breakout star of last year’s surprise finish, running back Cameron Skattebo. Skattebo rushed for 1,711 yards and scored 21 touchdowns with another 605 yards and three scores receiving.While the All-Big 12 back will now run for the New York Giants, his departure for the NFL leaves a significant void in the Sun Devils’ offense. In the conference preseason poll, Leavitt was selected preseason Offensive Player of the Year.Leavitt passed for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns, threw only six interceptions, and rushed for 443 yards with five scores.Leavitt will also have his top target back, Jordyn Tyson. Tyson had a late-season injury that sidelined him in the Big 12 Championship Game and Peach Bowl matchup with Texas, but he earned the league’s Newcomer of the Year award with 1,107 yards and 10 touchdowns.Tyson heads into 2025 as a preseason All-American, an honor Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham spoke of with guarded optimism.”He deserves it. He’s earned all that, he worked for all that. But he didn’t work for the preseason,” Dillingham said. “He’s worked for the postseason.”Northern Arizona had an impressive 2024 season in its own right. The Lumberjacks reached the FCS Playoffs for the first time since 2017 after finishing tied for third in the Big Sky Conference.
