Kenny Dillingham Speaks on Travel, Wembley Expectations After Arizona State's First Practice in London

"I didn't sleep the first 36 hours I was here (in London)," ASU head football coach Kenny Dillingham said. "So that was fun."

It has been a whirlwind 72-hour stretch for Sun Devils football, from kickoff in College Station, Texas, to touch down in London, England.

Dillingham and the Devils have now set up camp in the United Kingdom, practicing for the first time overseas on Tuesday.

"(Still) adjusting," Dillingham said about his team. "Playing a road game on Saturday and then getting out of there Saturday night, we are still in an adjusting phase, but I think they are getting there."

Devils Take In First London Practice

After traveling across the pond, Arizona State was finally able to touch grass once again in a Tuesday practice session, their first of the week.

"Solid day," Dillingham said. "I thought the setup was really good to practice in, fields are in good shape. The situation here is a pretty good setup. Obviously it's not as clean as being at home, but it's still kudos to everyone involved in getting the setup here."

For their practice set up in the United Kingdom, the Devils have utilized fields right outside of their team hotel, turning them into football gridirons for the week.

"It's definitely different," Dillingham said on the setup. "It's definitely unique. Obviously, we played on Saturday, our opponent didn't. They played on a Friday night at home, we played on a Saturday away. So from a whole logistical standpoint, they're two completely different games, so for us, getting out here early, the logistics have been as good as they could be."

Dillingham discussed the differences in Week 2 gamedays between ASU and Kansas, but isn't making any excuses over the matter.

"You don't expect the scheduling to be different when you schedule a game like this," Dillingham said. "At the end of the day, it is what it is. Nobody's going to feel better or worse for us, there are no excuses. You either get it done or don't get it done. That's the situation we are in, you either do or you do not."

No Time For Sightseeing: Business Trip for Dillingham

While some ASU players have already gotten a taste of London tourism, trying their first bite of Fish and Chips and figuring out what side of the street to walk in, Dillingham has not and isn't planning on treating this like a vacation.

"We're playing a football game," Dillingham responded when asked about his "fun plans" for the week. "The other people that have time, they can go do things, go in and experience it, (that's) awesome. That's why we came out here."

Dillingham and his staff may lock themselves in their hotel rooms this week, but that doesn't mean he wants his players to do the same.

"There's no advantage, from a football perspective, week three of a season, to fly across the country to play a football game." Dillingham said. "The only positive is that our kids get an experience that I wasn't going to rob them from. Does it hurt? Yeah. No way that's a positive for my "personal career", no way would I want our team to fly across the country Week 3 to play this game, but this is still an experience, they are still college athletes."

Dillingham Prepares for Wembley Stadium

Kenny Dillingham's "football first" mindset carried over into his thoughts of playing into Wembley Stadium as well.

"I'm excited. I'm excited to get back on the football field." Dillingham said. "Try and play a cleaner game than we did last week. That's my #1 excitement level, trying to play the best football game we can this week."

However, later in the media session, the fourth-year head coach would reveal some more excitement about the historic Wembley Stadium venue and the potential crowd.

"I'm expecting a fun crowd," Dillingham said. "An unbelievable stadium, an unbelievably fun crowd that's excited to watch college football, a place that's loud. I anticipate it to be loud. I went to a World Cup game and that environment was unbelievable. Not saying it's going to be a World Cup environment, that's about as good as an environment as you can get. But I expect the fans to be fired up.

Arizona State and Kansas are set to kick off at 5:00 p.m. London time; 9:00 a.m. MST in Arizona, on Saturday, September 19, on FS1.

It could also be the next time Kenny Dillingham steps outside...

"I don't plan on doing anything, other than be in this hotel."

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