Big 12 Favorites Arizona Start College Season With Big Win In Front of Sell-Out Crowd

September 4, 2025 by Staff

Head coach Kenny Dillingham watched on as his team started the 2025 college football season with a commanding victory over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, giving credence to the fact that the Arizona Sun Devils are one of the favorites to win the Big 12.

The Sun Devils secured a 38-19 win in front of a packed crowd at the Mountain America Stadium, and Dillingham will be looking to secure back-to-back Big 12 titles, having seen his team secure a surprising Championship in 2024, before the Sun Devils lost to the Texas Longhorns in the Peach Bowl. Arizona State football fans who want to back their team to ride high and perhaps even win their first national title can do so with the help of this FanDuel promo code, thereby making any success even more rewarding. 

This is Dillingham’s third season in charge at Arizona State, and the 35-year-old is developing a reputation as a head coach worth watching for the future. He’ll take his team to Mississippi State for their second game of the season, and the young coach has underlined the importance of starting well, not least because the Bulldogs enjoy vociferous support at the Davis Wade Stadium.

"Obviously, starting fast is critical in all games."

"I don't think it's any different whether it's on the road or at home. Obviously, if you get a lead, maybe you can remove the noise at times. They're such a good fanbase, I don't know if that's going to happen in general. I think they're going to show up, and I think they're going to be loud. It's going to come down to our players and executing and playing our brand of football."

"I have never played there," Dillingham added.

"I have been there (Starkville) multiple times recruiting. There is great food there, to be honest. I have stayed there about three or four times in the city, recruiting. The kid, Luke Altmeyer, flipped from me, a great player, to Coach Lebby. Coach Lebby is whipping my butt from that perspective."

"When you think of Mississippi State and Starkville, it's an unbelievable college town."

"There is a great environment there, and we're trying to simulate that environment as much as we can. Obviously, you can't simulate their fanbase and their excitement in that environment. You can get as close as you can. We're just trying to simulate the passion of that city and that place. It's awesome." Dillingham concluded.

The reversal of fortunes Dillingham has secured in such a relatively short space of time is astonishing. In his first campaign, his team could only manage a paltry 3-9 record, but in 2024, he transformed the team and completed an 11-3 season, and this was after they had been projected to finish last in the Top 12.

Now in 2025, he’ll have to deal with the expectations that come from the achievements secured last time around, which is why starting the new season well is so crucial.