Kenny Dillingham delivered a strong message to the College Football Playoff selection committee on Saturday.
Dillingham’s Arizona State Sun Devils routed the Iowa State Cyclones 45-19 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to win the Big 12 championship. The Sun Devils dominated after halftime and outscored Iowa State 21-0 in the third quarter to turn the game into a blowout.
The win made ASU 11-2, but Dillingham feels his team is even stronger than that. He communicated that message during a postgame interview with ESPN.
“Last year they kept Florida State out because their quarterback didn’t play. We’re 11-1 with our quarterback. 11-1, and we’re Big 12 champs. I think we should be treated like an 11-1 team,” Dillingham argued.
That’s a fair point by Dillingham, who referenced an undefeated Florida State team being left out of the playoff last year due to a season-ending injury to Jordan Travis.
ASU lost to Texas Tech in April for their first defeat. They were also beaten at Cincinnati in October when quarterback Sam Leavitt was out.
The committee probably won’t care too much about that, but the win over Iowa State ensures that Arizona State will make the field — which is more than we can say for Florida State. Arizona State could even end up with a bye in the first round.
