Kenny Dillingham<\/a> was even presented with a maroon-and-gold mariachi hat as a symbol of the warm reception. <\/p>\nThe celebration, however, was brief.<\/p>\n
ASU put on shoulder pads and returned to business the following day as it prepares for its eighth appearance in the December showcase, owning a 4-2-1 record. The Sun Devils will face ACC champion Duke in the postseason matchup.<\/p>\n
Despite more than 30 players expected to miss the game, Dillingham said the approach remains unchanged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s part of it,\u201d Dillingham said, according to Sun Devil Source. \u201cThat\u2019s the nature of it. Like I told our guys, we\u2019ve got to go compete and do whatever we can to scratch, claw and try to win a football game.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Sun Bowl does not carry College Football Playoff implications, Arizona State is intent on closing the season on a high note. The program has drawn attention in recent weeks amid speculation surrounding Dillingham\u2019s future and questions at the quarterback position after reports indicated Sam Leavitt would enter the transfer portal.<\/p>\n
Now, the focus has narrowed.<\/p>\n
The Sun Devils enter the game with one objective: win one more time this season against an ACC champion.<\/p>\n
Dillingham\u2019s insistence on maintaining competitiveness underscores the importance he places on finishing seasons the right way and treating every opportunity to play as a chance to win. The approach reflects the changes the Sun Devils\u2019 head coach has made during his short time in Tempe and how the Valley has embraced it.<\/p>\n
With history and preparedness on its side, Arizona State aims to reinforce what it wants to become: a program ready for any challenge, regardless of the situation.<\/p>\n
The Sun Devils and the Blue Devils will face off on New Year\u2019s Eve on Wednesday, Dec. 31, at 12 p.m. MST.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EL PASO \u2014 Arizona State arrived in El Paso on Saturday ahead of this year\u2019s Sun Bowl and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[138,140,139],"class_list":["post-103292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-el-paso","tag-el-paso","tag-el-paso-headlines","tag-el-paso-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}