ASU Coach Kenny Dillingham Answers Questions About Baylor Ahead of Saturday Night's Big 12 Matchup
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Kenny Dillingham, head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils, was asked several questions about Baylor during his Media Availablity on Monday. From the quarterback situation at Baylor to Coach Spavital to even Palmer Williams and more. With each response from Coach Dillingham provides insight into the ASU mindset heading into Saturday's game against the Bears.
Baylor has two Capable but Different Quarterbacks, How do you Prepare for That?
Coach Dillingham: "Yeah, obviously, you know, they have a starter who is the number one quarterback in the country, and for a reason from that perspective. And when he played in game one, he was productive. He was good. He was running around, making really big, big-time throws. Then they lost him. They lost to one of their top wideouts, who should be working back.
"So you have to look at them in two separate offenses, you know, the offenses that they've played with him and the offenses they've played without him, and see if there's any differences. So it's, you know, it's one week four, but we're kind of in like week two in terms of you got halves, two halves of what you want to do. Your quarterback's usually your identity. So, you know, we're trying to piece that together, you know, based off what they've done. And yes, it is different."
Our Take: While there's no reason that Baylor should need to use multiple quarterbacks in the same game as long as DJ Lagway is healthy, any amount of time that an opposing team has to dedicate to preparing for two quarterbacks means that they aren't solely dedicating time to stopping just one. If Nate Bennett had stunk up the joint in his two games starting in place of the injured Lagway, I imagine that much less practice time would be set aside to prepare for a potential Bennett-led offense.
Bennett's exceptional play during those two games provides the rest of the schedule the fear that he could step in to the offense at any time and perform just as well as he did against PVA&M and LA Tech. That fear of "Baylor has two very capable quarterbacks who can beat you" will only help Baylor the rest of the season.
Thoughts on Baylor's Offensive Coordinator Jake Spavital
Coach Dillingham: "Yeah, I mean, he's going to want to throw the football down the field. You know, one thing that's a glaring thing that shows up is all their double moves. I mean, if you look at their touchdowns and you look at double moves, I mean, it's like a double-move touchdown tape. And it doesn't matter where he's been. He's been really good at double moves. And that's because they've been really efficient in the quick passing game.
"So when you're efficient in quick passing game, it sets up your double moves to be, you know, explosive. So we've got to be able to knock out the quick passing game so we do prevent the double move from happening, right? It's because that's the setup. We can't allow the explosives. And, you know, he changes all the time. I mean, that's the one thing, credit to Coach Spav, is he changes. You know, he has an identity of who he wants to be.
"But how he releases that identity, I think, changes every single year. He knows what he wants. He wants to create explosives. He wants to get the ball on the field. He wants to have a downhill run game. He wants to be efficient in passing game and make easy access throws for his quarterback. But how he does that, I think, changes every single season. I think that's why he's lasted a long time being, you know, a very, very, very good offense coordinator."
Our Take: A quick passing game is hard to defend against, tight coverage or pressing the receivers at the line of scrimmage opens the defense up to the vulnerability of those double moves that Coach Dillingham spoke about. It's almost a mean strategy by Coach Spavital; quick passes force the defense to step forward, then come the double moves that exploit that very aggressiveness.
Do you give up the 3-5 yard completion and risk the play being stretched into something longer (not unlike the Gavin Freeman-hurdle-highlight from the Colorado game), or do you get burnt downfield for a 30+ yard reception? Expect Coach Spavital to continue looking for those openings in this week's play-calling.
On Facing the Bears' Defense
Coach Dillingham: "Well, I mean, well, they stoned us last year for most of the game. You know, we were in the dogfight over there. And, you know, but I think the biggest change is their head coach has mentioned it multiple times, is he made an emphasis on the front. Like, he made an emphasis on the front. And when you watch them play, you know, the Power Five teams that they've played and some of these other, I mean, with the Auburn game, and you see them, you know, go toe-to-toe up front.
"And in a lot of cases, win a lot of reps up front. And then, you know, last week, toe-to-toe, winning a lot of reps up front. You know, that was his plan. He went and wanted to get that. And, I mean, it's good strategy there. You know what, four inches away from being 4-0. I mean, literally, they're four inches away from being 4-0.
"And if they reach the ball four more inches, this is a top 25 team coming to town. So it's crazy how, you know, perception versus reality of teams, right? We're talking that far from a top 25 team coming to play us at home. And so this will be a good, tough task for us. Like I said, they're really good up front. The defense had the ball, they had a plan, and they executed."
Our Take: The addition of Joe Klanderman as Defensive Coordinator as well as the emphasis on the defense for this season through the NIL and transfer portal isn't a secret in the slightest as Coach Dave Aranda even spoke about that very thing during his Media Availability this week. The Bears defense has consistently performed well each week this season, and I look for that to continue this week against ASU.
Coach Dillingham also brought up a good point that Baylor is only a handful of inches away from being 4-0 and ranked heading into this game, a statement win against the Sun Devils in Tempe could be the ideal time for Baylor to finally play a complete game (without the third quarter sloppiness that's afflicted them this season).
Palmer Williams may be the Best Punter in the Country
Coach Dillingham: "Yeah, just putting the ball over their head, making them run backwards. And, you know, because when he gets a hold of it, I mean, this thing is a ram-a-dam-a-ham slam, right?I t's gone. And so you got to be ready to get out of there. And then if you can't field it, let it go. It is what it is. And then obviously getting a beat for, we got to be deeper this week because he has a phenomenal punter. But possession is the most important thing on a return unit, possession of the ball. So just continuing to preach, possession of the ball is the most important thing."
Our Take: Let's all just take a moment and appreciate that Dillingham could find no words to describe a Palmer Williams punt than calling it a "ramadamahamslam." The punt might be the most important play in the entire sport of football, but the only potential thing more important than the punt itself definitely possession of the ball during the return. Williams (if he's needed at all against ASU) I would expect to continue his pattern of 50+yard punts and ability to pin the opposing team inside their own five yard line.
What This All Means
This presser showed cautious concern and acknowledgment from Coach Dillingham about hosting the Bears this Saturday. The Baylor Bears are 3.5 point underdogs (subject to change at any time), but they're bringing a lot of the Big 12's finest into Tempe to play, and they don't expect to lose. One of the best defenses in the country, one of the best special teams units in the country, and a receiving corps that touts the #1 receiver in terms of total receptions? There's reason to fear these Bears as an opponent.
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Brad is a writer and contributes to the Baylor Bears on SI, with aspirations to share his own unique thoughts and perspectives with fans. Whether through the facts and figures of the past or the untold potential and triumphs of the future, sports have always been a large influence on Brad's storytelling and life overall. His inspiration to write began while watching sports when he first noticed the highs and lows of each game, each quarter, each play; there's a story in each of them worth telling, and he wanted to tell them.
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