An emotional Kenny Dillingham leaves the interview after being upset by Texas Tech
The Arizona State Sun Devils defeated the #7 Texas Tech Red Raiders with a a surprising 26-22 score on Saturday nightand head coach Kenny Dillingham was too emotional to finish the post-game interview.
“Coach, what does it say about this team? You told them to run on smoke, and they just scored an incredible result. You’re obviously emotional. What does this mean to you?”
Dillingham answered his first question, “Unreal. Crazy.” But when Hale asked him again what the win meant, the coach paused and shook his head. Then he ran into a crowd of celebrating fans.
The defending Big 12 champions showed they weren’t ready to relinquish their crown. Quarterback Sam Leavitt is back healthy after suffering a foot injury and missing last week’s 42-10 loss to Utah. But this time, Arizona State looked like a completely different team.
Leavitt finished 28-of-47 passing for 319 yards and a touchdown, shredding Texas Tech’s stout defense throughout the game. The 20-year-old redshirt sophomore connected with star wide receiver Jordin Tyson for a two-yard touchdown to help build a 19-7 lead.
Texas Tech played without injured starting quarterback Behren Morton. However, backup Will Hammond helped the team come back. The Red Raiders scored two late touchdowns to take a stunning 22-19 lead with just over two minutes left.
Then Leavitt took over. He led the Sun Devils on a key drive, converting a fourth-and-2 at midfield with a 33-yard strike to Tyson. After a pass interference penalty gave them the ball at the one-yard line, running back Ralick Brown punched it in with 34 seconds left for the game-winning score.
Kicker Jesus Gomez drilled four field goals to help Arizona State improve to 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 play. Texas Tech fell to 6-1 after entering the game undefeated.
Fans immediately flooded the field to celebrate ASU’s 16th win over a Top 10 opponent in program history.
An emotional Kenny Dillingham left his postgame interview after beating no. 7 Texas Tech pic.tvitter.com/TrUhOZpPig
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOKS) October 18, 2025
2025-10-19 04:52:00
