Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State may be back in CFP with stars not hitting the portal

This is exactly what you want to see out of a rockstar head coach. I may have been skeptical of Kenny Dillingham being able to turn around his alma mater, but it took an Arizona State alum to help awaken college football's long sleeping giant. In year two on the job, Dillingham guided Arizona State to a 11-3 (7-2) record, a Big 12 Championship and a College Football Playoff berth. They went 3-9 last year...

Arizona State played arguably the best football of anyone from October on. The Sun Devils took advantage of their being a power void at the top of the expanded Big 12 to win the conference. They were one series away from beating Big 12 defector Texas in the Peach Bowl. While the Big 12 does not carry the gravitas of the other Power Four leagues, who is to say Arizona State is going away?

Although superstar running back Cam Skattebo has run out of eligibility and will be turning pro, pretty much everyone else of note from this past year's team will be returning to Tempe. Everyone is completely bought into what Dillingham is preaching in The Valley of the Sun. The best thing he has going for him is starting quarterback Sam Leavitt is about to level up in the most incredible way soon.

For the amount of talent Arizona State is returning, why would they not be a contender to repeat?

More importantly, the Big 12 has shown in the past it can put forth two top-10 teams annually as well.

Arizona State plans to run it back with the same team that won the Big 12

Look. For as great as it was to see Arizona State have its best season since long before I could shave my 35-year-old face, I remain a tad dubious that the Sun Devils are a shoe-in to win the Big 12 again next year. Water will eventually find its level, meaning somebody will assume power at the top of the league previously vacated by Texas. It could be Arizona State, it may be someone else, I do not know.

What I am getting at is for the time being, the Big 12 will be a league that will get between one and two teams in the 12-team College Football Playoff. Last year, only one team was deserving. The same thing applies to the 2023 Big 12 with only Texas being worthy of inclusion. Conversely, the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons would have all sent two teams to the playoff out of the Big 12 those years.

Truth be told, of the top four finishers in the Big 12 last season, where does Arizona State fall next year in the same cluster at BYU, Colorado and Iowa State. I would argue the Cyclones are the most likely to stay at the top of the league, followed by Arizona State and potentially BYU. Colorado will pull back a tad, but could sustain excellence under Deion Sanders. My eyes are on Kansas State as well...

Ultimately, Arizona State's plan to run it back will help this program sustain excellence in the new era of college football, but it may not necessarily guarantee that the Sun Devils will repeat in their new league. I would venture to guess they will start the season out ranked with Leavitt getting early Heisman Trophy buzz. They will need to earn it, as 10 wins may not be enough to win the Big 12 again.

Right now, it is still hard to punch holes in Arizona State's ability to keep it going after a great season.