What if Arizona State football is better than everybody thinks?

Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham runs about 8 miles a day … in practice. He sweats as much as his players. And every time you talk to the guy, his voice is as hoarse as a stable.
He wants to win, and if he can infuse that into his players, this team will have a shot at a bowl game come season’s end, regardless of what the critics are predicting.
“I want … everybody that watches us play to go, ‘Man … that player plays his guts out. That kid plays with a passion. Watch that kid play the game,” Dillingham said after practice recently.
There’s a chance, of course, that the Sun Devils could be as bad as everybody thinks.
They’ve got a first-year coach who’s so young you might forgive a player for calling him “bro” instead of “sir.” They’ve got depth problems thanks to a recruiting scandal that saw the previous staff leave Tempe in disgrace. And they’ve got four teams ranked in the preseason top 15 on the schedule.
All that said, don’t be shocked if these guys find a way to close the season with a winning record. Anything can happen, and no sport is as unpredictable as football.
Here’s how ASU could pull it off:
In the Mountain zone
The Sun Devils have eight home games at Mountain America Stadium this season, including each of the first four. What if ASU goes 5-3?
No matter what’s going on in the program, ASU should beat Southern Utah. That’s 1-0.
Next up is Oklahoma State. The Cowboys thumped the Sun Devils in Stillwater early last season, but what if they can’t handle the Arizona heat in early September when it’s likely to be about 42 degrees hotter than it is in the Heartland? That would lead to a 2-0 start and some momentum against Fresno State.
The Bulldogs won the Mountain West Conference last season, but they’re looking for a new quarterback. Maybe that’s enough of an edge for ASU to start out 3-0?
USC could beat ASU by 100 points, and it would still only count as one loss in the standings.
The remaining home games are against Colorado, Washington State, Oregon and Arizona. ASU could split those and end the season with a 5-3 home record.
Wise beyond his years
Kenny Dillingham might not know what the Sistine Chapel smells like, but that might not matter.
There’s a scene in the movie “Good Will Hunting,” in which Robin Williams tells Matt Damon the value of experience.
“Michelangelo? You know a lot about him,” the older Williams says to the brash, young Damon, “Life’s work, political aspirations … the whole works, right? But I bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel.”
But what if Dillingham gets to stare up at that ceiling (figuratively, of course, against OSU, Cal or UCLA) and the room smells exactly like he thought it would?
What if, for Dillingham, there’s nothing to it, but to do it?
Dillingham works harder than anyone. He wants to win so badly that the desire comes straight out of his pores. He’s the perfect guy to defy the “he’s too young” critics — and there have been a lot of us who will have to eat our words if he does.
He's built for this
Dillingham is doing what he always wanted to do. He’s dreamed about this opportunity in detail that most people can’t fathom. That comes with an enthusiasm that will be hard to match.
It should make him tough, too.
He’s willing to do more than anyone would deem reasonable just to show how grateful he is to get his chance.
The man to fear in a battle is the one who’s enjoying the fight. That’s Dillingham.
“I love this,” he said recently after practice.
His shirt was soaked. It was about 115 degrees and he had put almost twice as many miles on his pedometer app as a Pat’s Run. And there was a joker’s grin on his face, almost like he knew something no one else did, and he was keeping the secret to himself, because nobody would believe the vision if he told them.
“I love it,” he repeated. “There’s nothing I’d rather do.”
What if he can go like this all season?
“If I can’t keep this energy up,” he said, “I shouldn’t be doing the job.”
More Sun Devils: Game-by-game win percentage chances in 2023 season
Maybe ASU is going to finish toward the bottom of the Pac-12 standings, just like most experts are predicting.
But maybe ASU can exceed all expectations?
Maybe the Sun Devils will walk into the final game of the season with bowl eligibility on the line?
Don’t be shocked if they do.
Anything can happen.