ARLINGTON, Texas -- After scoring his third touchdown of the game on a swing pass in a dominant 45-19 victory over Iowa State to claim the Big 12 title, Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo calmly walked into the end zone and struck the Heisman Trophy pose.
Skattebo isn't among the eight players listed on FanDuel with +50000 or better odds to win the award. Realistically, he doesn't have a chance to catch Travis Hunter or Ashton Jeanty for the honor. Still, he refused to back down. And this was his moment.
"I've been disrespected all my life," Skattebo said. "I've always been the underdog, and nobody respects the fact that I'm the best running back in the country. I'm going to stand on that. If people disrespect that, I'm going to keep going, and I'm going to keep proving people wrong."
If you're looking for manufactured gripes, you won't find them here. Skattebo was recruited by William & Mary out of high school before landing at FCS Sacramento State. He wasn't even the starting running back with the Hornets until now-Atlanta Falcons running back Elijah Dotson transferred. Arizona State had a connection with him from his Sac State days and took a flyer on him in the portal. Now, the former Big Sky backup is one of the biggest stars in college football.
Entering Saturday, Skattebo ranked second nationally in all-purpose yards per game, trailing only Jeanty. After clearing 200 all-purpose yards and scoring three touchdowns in the Big 12 Championship Game, Skattebo has totaled 1,568 yards on the ground, 506 receiving yards and is just the third player in college football this season to surpass 2,000 all-purpose yards.
"He's just got a low center of gravity," Iowa State defensive lineman J.R. Singleton said. "I feel like when he gets his engine going, it's hard to stop him. When he does get going, you have to populate to the ball. It's really hard to tackle him one-on-one."
There was a bizarre sequence in the first half when Skattebo took the ball on a run, found himself in trouble and suddenly threw it into the middle of the field. Everyone looked around in confusion. It turns out Skattebo was outside the tackle box. Avoiding a sack and turning it into an incompletion prevented a negative play and set up a touchdown.
"I'm like, what just happened? Is this real life?" Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham said. "But that's Skat. That defines Skat. He finds a way to be successful."
After the game, Skattebo received the WWE championship belt gifted to the Big 12 Championship Game MVP by WWE wrestlers Jey Uso and Sami Zayn and got all of his offensive linemen to sign it. He shared it with his father in the parent section and had to be pulled away to fulfill his postgame responsibilities.
The two most popular jerseys in the Arizona State fan section: Pat Tillman and Skattebo.
"It's pretty wild. I'll hand the ball off, carry out my fake a little bit and get ready for a gain of five or whatever," Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt said. "I've got the best seat in the house. I see the dude weaving through some traffic, rambling loose and breaking one for 70. He's the best player in the nation, flat out, the most dominant player."
Wide receiver Xavier Guillory played against Skattebo when both were in the Big Sky Conference. Guillory was a star at Idaho State when Skattebo broke out at Sacramento State.
"Every game, I'll be blocking for him and think I'm done, and then I look up and say, okay, cool, he's still running," Guillory said. "Oh, he's still running. Okay, I'm running down the field 100 yards to go block with this dude. I've seen this since 2021. This dude is crazy."
Skattebo has incredible leg drive and manages to maintain his balance through contact better than almost any running back in college football. He showed it off early and often against Iowa State, breaking multiple tackles to keep the Sun Devils in the game. With wide receiver Jordyn Tyson out, Skattebo had no choice but to deliver a legendary performance. Somehow, he exceeded expectations.
Now, Arizona State is the first team in Big 12 history to go from last place in the preseason poll to winning the conference in one season. More importantly, the Sun Devils are all but assured of a College Football Playoff berth on Sunday. And regardless of whether he gets the trip to New York, Tempe knows, Skattebo is a transformative player for the program. When the best player in your program came from the bottom, it sets the tone for everyone.
"People have always said this place is a sleeping giant," Dillingham said. "Well, you're not a sleeping giant if you never wake up. You're a dead giant, right? Finally, I think these guys have bought into not just Arizona State, they've bought into everything that the Valley has to offer."