Cam Skattebo and Arizona State are having an impressive run in their first season in the Big 12, despite being predicted to finish at the bottom of the conference.
Now, the Sun Devils will represent their new 16-team league in the 12-team College Football Playoff after defeating Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday.
Skattebo, known for his tough running, had 170 yards rushing, including a 28-yard gain on the first play of the game. He had several long runs, dodging tackles to set up two short touchdowns, and later turned a short pass into another score.
“I’ve got the best seat in the house,” said Sam Leavitt, the freshman quarterback who hands off to Skattebo. “I just see the dude weaving through traffic… and busts loose.”
Arizona State (11-2, No. 15 CFP), coached by 34-year-old Kenny Dillingham, heads into the playoff with a six-game winning streak.
The Sun Devils are guaranteed a spot in the playoff as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions, and they hope to be one of the top four teams to earn a first-round bye.
Big Ten champion Oregon and SEC champion Georgia are expected to be the top two seeds when the final CFP rankings come out Sunday. Arizona State will likely be ranked below Mountain West champion Boise State (12-1, No. 10) but may rank above Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson (10-3, No. 17), who defeated SMU (11-2, No. 8) in the ACC title game on Saturday night.
Before the championship game, Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark expressed his opinion that the league’s champion should receive a first-round bye and should not have to start the playoff on the road.
“Last year, they left a team out because of a quarterback (then-undefeated Florida State). We’re 11-1 with our starting quarterback, having beat four ranked teams and we won the Big 12 championship,” said Dillingham. “We made a standard that the quarterback is that valuable … I definitely think we should host a game.”
Iowa State (10-3, No. 16 CFP), which had already reached its first 10-win season in 133 years, trailed 24-10 at halftime. The Cyclones turned the ball over three times in their own territory in the third quarter, allowing Arizona State to score each time.
“It doesn’t get that much more deflating than that,” said Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. “Their ability to take care of the football and our inability to do that in the third quarter was just paralyzing.”
Xavier Guillory caught two touchdown passes, one for 8 yards and another for 21 yards, in just 71 seconds after the Iowa State turnovers. Skattebo then turned a third-down swing pass into a 33-yard touchdown to make it 45-10, celebrating with a Heisman Trophy pose.
Skattebo did the Heisman pose several times during the game and wore a Big 12 championship T-shirt afterward.
“Nobody respects the fact that I’m the best running back in the country. And I’m going to stand on that,” Skattebo said. “I’m going to keep proving people wrong. And whatever NFL team takes me is going to get a gem.”
Skattebo set a school record with 2,074 total yards from scrimmage (1,568 rushing and 506 receiving) in a single season.
Before his 3-yard touchdown, Skattebo had a 47-yard run, spinning away from defenders and shrugging off others. He also scored a 2-yard touchdown in the last minute of the first half after a 53-yard run, breaking tackles along the way.
“He’s an ‘A’ player, and he played an ‘A’ game today,” Campbell said. “In these moments, you need your ‘A’ players to play ‘A’ football, and he certainly did it.”
