Kenny Dillingham After Arizona State's Loss to Texas A&M: 'We Can Beat Anybody'
Kenny Dillingham didn't need much time to identify what went wrong for Arizona State against No. 10 Texas A&M.
Four turnovers. A handful of critical mistakes. And, in Dillingham's view, some decisions by the head coach that didn't help.
What he didn't see was an Arizona State team that didn't belong on the same field with the Aggies.
The Sun Devils' 48-20 loss Saturday at Kyle Field produced one of the more unusual stat sheets they'll see this season. Arizona State out-gained Texas A&M 369-255, had more first downs and held the Aggies to 2.6 yards per rushing attempt.
Yet Texas A&M won comfortably after capitalizing repeatedly on Arizona State mistakes.
"You know, if you just watch the game, we're a good football team," Dillingham said afterward. "Played well for most of the game."
His message to the team afterward was similarly straightforward.
"We can play with anybody."
Dillingham: 'We Just Self-Destructed'
Arizona State trailed 17-10 at halftime and was within 24-20 late in the third quarter.
Then everything unraveled.
The Sun Devils committed three turnovers during a disastrous fourth quarter, including an interception returned 55 yards for a touchdown by Marco Jones.
Those mistakes followed a first-quarter muffed punt that set up Texas A&M's first touchdown.
Dillingham said the four turnovers were "absolutely critical" and emphasized that the otherwise encouraging parts of Arizona State's performance couldn't erase them.
"Take away those four plays, probably pretty good," Dillingham said. "But those four plays count and they count for more than the other plays, and that's what we got to clean up."
Later, he put it more succinctly.
"We just self-destructed."
Arizona State finished with four turnovers compared with one for Texas A&M. The Sun Devils were also penalized nine times for 62 yards, while the Aggies were called for just one five-yard penalty.
Dillingham Puts Some of the Blame on Himself
Dillingham didn't put everything on his players.
He specifically questioned his decision to call a play-action shot that resulted in one of Arizona State's costly turnovers and also second-guessed becoming overly aggressive when the game began slipping away.
"Bad decision by me," Dillingham said. "Like I told the guys, I made a lot of mistakes in the game. I got to be better."
Dillingham also addressed Arizona State's unsuccessful fake punt late in the first half. The play was designed to be checked out of depending on Texas A&M's alignment, but ASU ran it against an unfavorable look and was stopped.
The Aggies took possession at the Arizona State 42 and eventually kicked a field goal with three seconds remaining to take a 17-10 halftime lead.
Dillingham wasn't critical of the aggressive philosophy behind the decision.
"If we're going to go out, we're going to go out swinging," he said.
What bothered him was Arizona State's inability to stop one mistake from becoming several.
Dillingham said players — and their coach — began pressing as things unraveled in the fourth quarter.
"Starts with me," he said. "Can't press in that situation."
Arizona State Proved Something Despite the Loss
Dillingham repeatedly returned to one point during his postgame press conference: He believes Arizona State demonstrated that it belongs against elite competition.
The Sun Devils finished with 254 passing yards and 115 rushing yards while limiting Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed to 163 passing yards. ASU also held a 30:04-29:56 advantage in time of possession.
"We looked like we belong," Dillingham said. "That wasn't an issue."
The coach was particularly pleased with how his team handled the Kyle Field environment. He believed ASU played well through the first three quarters despite trailing on the scoreboard.
Wide receiver Reed Harris was one of the biggest reasons.
Harris caught nine passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns, including a 58-yard scoring reception from Cutter Boley that pulled Arizona State within 24-20 in the third quarter.
"Played great," Dillingham said of Harris. "Great game, great person."
'We Can Beat Anybody' — And Lose to Anybody
Dillingham's most revealing assessment came when he discussed what Arizona State should take from the loss as it immediately turns its attention toward its next challenge.
He sees two lessons that seemingly contradict each other.
"There's one takeaway from this game that I take away, is that we're a good football team," Dillingham said. "I don't leave this game not thinking that we can beat anybody."
Then came the other side.
"But I also leave it saying, man, if we have four turnovers, we can lose to anybody, too."
That may be the most important takeaway from Arizona State's afternoon in College Station.
The Sun Devils showed enough to believe they can compete with high-level opponents. They also demonstrated how quickly turnovers, penalties and other mistakes can make all the encouraging statistics meaningless.
Dillingham drove that point home with perhaps his most colorful line of the press conference.
"Stats are for losers," he said. "Our stats showed that we played well tonight, and that's — they're for losers, and that's a great example of it."
No Time to Dwell on Texas A&M
Arizona State won't have much time to sit around thinking about the loss.
The Sun Devils are headed directly from Texas to London, where they will begin preparations for their next game against Kansas.
Dillingham described an unusual postgame itinerary involving a short flight, a lengthy team meal and then a roughly 10-hour flight overseas.
That, he hopes, will make moving past Texas A&M considerably easier.
"We got to flush this," Dillingham said.
The coach doesn't want his players leaving College Station focused on a misleading final score or taking consolation from winning the statistical battle.
He wants them remembering both lessons.
Arizona State showed Saturday that it can compete.
It also showed exactly what can happen when it beats itself.
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