Kenny Dillingham, ASU earn CFB gods’ hand after brutal slow-motion targeting replay

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham got a raise this week, and he has earned it. While ASU plays in a Power-4 conference, he could've easily flipped for a better job had the Sun Devils not given him the contract he deserves.

Instead, Dillingham is here to stay, and it's easy to see why. The Sun Devils players love him, and that was never more evident than in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against the Texas Longhorns.

Dillingham is one of the youngest head coaches in college football. At 34, he earned $3.95 million in base salary in 2024, plus an added $2.56 million in bonuses. Now, he'll be paid even more, per Pete Thamel.

Arizona State nearly screwed over vs Texas over terrible missed targeting call

Arizona State completed a memorable comeback against Texas and even tied the game. As they drove down the field with a chance to take the lead, they were beneficiaries of what looked to be a targeting penalty on third down. Yet, upon further review, the officials overturned the call.

Social media and college football fans with little affiliation to ASU were flabbergasted with the call, and it's easy to see why.

Back in MY day (2024), helmet-to-helmet hits were obvious grounds for targeting and an ejection. Yet, the officials somehow saw enough in the replay (which we have access to) to overturn that targeting call, and thus force the Sun Devils to punt the ball back to Texas. I...have no words, and neither did Dillingham.

It is here where I stop to give Dilliingham a lot of credit for showing restraint. Most head coaches would've lost their cool, and perhaps cost the Sun Devils some yardage on their punt. That, as we now know, would have hurt Arizona State greatly.

Texas took over inside their own 30 and drove the ball down the field. An extra 15 yards would've made a huge difference, and despite driving down the field, their kicker missed a field goal to potentially win the game.

That was Bert Auburn's second missed field goal of the game, and it would've sent the Longhorns to the CFP semifinals. Instead, they had to fight in overtime against an Arizona State team hungry for an upset.

Good luck with that.