ARLINGTON, Texas — Cam Skattebo crossed the goal line at AT&T Stadium and struck a Heisman pose as his Arizona State teammates celebrated around him. That 3-yard run was his first of three scores on the day and gave the Sun Devils a seven-point lead over Iowa State in Saturday’s Big 12 championship game.
Skattebo’s breakout season has been the catalyst for No. 15 Arizona State’s magical run, which continued with a 45-19 win over the No. 16 Cyclones (10-3) that sends the Sun Devils into the College Football Playoff.
Just after the final seconds ticked off the clock, Skattebo was on a stage accepting Most Outstanding Player honors, that accolade coming in the form of WWE wrestling belt emblazoned with “Big 12” and presented to him by WWE wrestlers Jey Uso and Sami Zayn — appropriate given Skattebo’s physical style of play.
Skattebo then passed it around to his offensive linemen and asked them to sign it for their roll in his success.
The CFP selection show airs at 10 a.m. MST Sunday on ESPN.
ASU outscored Iowa State 21-0 in the third quarter, after which Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham told ABC: “Three straight stops, three straight turnovers … short fields, offense has finished. Just complementary football. … I’m really proud of the guys.”
Saturday’s romp marked the sixth straight victory for ASU and is the fourth win over a nationally ranked opponent.
It was considered a toss-up game, especially after the Sun Devils (11-2) lost their leading receiver Jordyn Tyson to injury last week. The teams came in ranked one spot apart and were comparable in every statistical category. But the Sun Devils sent a message, led by their spirited spark plug, scoring 35 unanswered points after the teams were tied at 10.
Colorado’s duo of Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders and Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty have been the players dominating the Heisman Trophy conversation. While Skattebo’s season hasn’t put him quite at that level, it has generated buzz throughout the college football circles. He wasn’t on the radar of NFL scouts after last season, which was solid but not spectacular.
But Skattebo made a statement when the spotlight was the brightest, with the Sun Devils playing in a conference championship game on national television. Safe to say, there have never been more eyes on him than on Saturday, and he responded.
Skattebo tallied 170 yards on 16 carries and caught two passes for 38 yards, highlighted by a 33-yard scoring reception in the third quarter that gave ASU a 45-10 lead.
Game rewind:Cam Skattebo, ASU dominate Iowa State for Big 12 title
The 18 points and three touchdowns tied a Big 12 championship-game record and his total yards this season (2,074 rushing and receiving combined) broke a school record set by Eno Benjamin (1,905 yards) in 2018.
Skattebo was asked about striking the pose and admitted it was his statement for being overlooked. While he didn’t claim he should win the coveted trophy, he does think he is worthy of an invite to the festivities.
“I’ve been disrespected my whole life,” he said. “I’ve been the underdog, and no one respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country. I’m going to stand on that and if they disrespect that I’m going to keep going and I’m going to keep proving people wrong.
“Whatever NFL team takes me is going to get a gem and I’ll give everything I got for them and I may not win the Heisman but I should be in that situation.”
The first half ended with ASU in front 24-10 on the strength of 140 Skattebo yards, 90, of those coming after contact. His longest carry of the day was a 53-yard jaunt during which he broke five tackles.
Any thought the Cyclones might have had of rallying in the second half ended quickly. ASU forced three turnovers in the third quarter and turned all of those into touchdowns and the rout was on.
Dillingham has no doubt Skattebo is worthy of a trip to New York City, even if he isn’t likely to win the Heisman.
“I do think he should be. … Like he’s good enough to be there. I don’t know. What did he finish up today? Oh, he was 0 for 1 passing,” Dillingham joked, referencing Skattebo’s attempt at throwing the ball away when he could have been tackled for a big loss.
“He had two catches for 38 yards, one touchdown. He basically had 200 yards of total offense and three touchdowns. That’s incredible. I think that’s his third time in a row he’s gone for over 100 yardsand multiple touchdowns in the first half, potentially. I don’t know what else you can do to put your name in the race. There are two other guys that are really, really high on that list, and I don’t know if he should ever surpass those guys. Should he be on that list? Should he have the opportunity to go there? Yes.”
Skattebo’s numbers could have been even better, but the game was so in hand that he came out of it early in the fourth quarter, as did freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt, who threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns, two of those scoring tosses going to Xavier Guillory.
Iowa State coach Matt Campbell appreciates what he saw in Skattebo.
“He’s a really good football player, a lot of respect for him,” Campbell said. “Any time you witness a great football player like that, you just have to have great appreciation for that.
“He’s an ‘A’ player, and he played an ‘A’ game today. In those moments, you need your ‘A’ players to play football, he certainly did it. Hats off to him for sure.”
Now, the Sun Devils wait for their CFP fate. Most projections had ASU in the 12-team field as an 11 or 12 seed and not getting a first-round bye, that privilege going to Boise State, which wrapped up the Mountain West title Friday night.
But ASU certainly made its case, although its fate seemed to be sealed when it moved up only one spot in last week’s CFP poll. Whether ASU gets the bye or not, the storied season will continue — and Skattebo has another game to best Benjamin’s single-season rushing record of 1,642 yards in 2018. He came into the game with 1,398 so he’s now in striking distance at 1,568.
The only blemish was the second-half targeting penalty on Sun Devils defensive back Shamari Simmons, which means Simmons won’t be available to play the first half of ASU’s next game.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
