Arizona State football went into the bye week with a sour taste after losing to Cincinnati with backup quarterback Jeff Sims in for an injured Sam Leavitt and a kicking game that came under fire by head coach Kenny Dillingham.

Back from the break, the 5-2 Sun Devils will visit Oklahoma State on Saturday, and Dillingham wants to his team play with a violent edge after he felt they pulled back in Cincinnati. ASU’s first loss preceded a bye, and the Sun Devils responded with two wins.

“There’s a few weeks in there where we got a few penalties, and I really challenged our guys to play hard and not to get aggressive penalties and find the balance. I think I pulled them back too much,” Dillingham told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Friday. “I want these guys to play hard. I want these guys to play violent. I want these guys to play physical. I want these guys to play with an edge.

“I’m looking for people that I have to pull back. And I think I pulled back too much the last couple weeks, really the last week just to try to not get as many penalties, and I want these guys to play a little bit more aggressive. I got to let them play more free.”

Leavitt will be back under center, and his toughness has been displayed throughout this season, particularly when he checked back into a win over Utah after injuring his ribs. Dillingham said Leavitt would have played at Cincinnati had it been up to him, but the bye came at an opportune time.

The Sun Devils will be showcased on FOX this weekend, an opportunity for national exposure against a Cowboys program that has not won fewer than seven games since 2005.

Plus, a win would clinch a bowl game for ASU for the first time since 2021.

“We’re on the road, it’s going to be a sloppy game from a weather perspective, it’s going to be their homecoming so it’s going to be loud,” Dillingham said. “Each individual person on our team has an opportunity to showcase themselves. They have an opportunity to showcase the program, showcase the direction of the program. Games like this are critical in terms of flipping a program, changing direction, getting hype, getting excitement around a place.

“I think this year we’ve had a lot of excitement around the program. I think nationally, people are slowly talking about us and we’re back in the picture, especially regionally we’re being talked about, which is huge for recruiting. I think this is another step in that direction, where people can say, ‘Man ASU is going in the right direction. This is this is a trendy team. This is a fun team. This is an exciting program.’”

Dillingham explained locking in a bowl game is not a goal but an important milestone to hit for the program. It can show recruits and transfers that ASU is heading in a positive direction.

Who will kick for ASU football?

Dillingham did not specify who would attempt field goals this weekend, but he said the team will roll with its rostered kickers.

The field conditions may play a factor, considering the Sun Devils will seemingly have to deal with stormy weather.

“Who’s comfortable in the rain?” Dillingham asked. “We don’t see a lot of that, we can try to simulate it, but it’s different.

“From an offensive, defense perspective, Oklahoma is usually fairly windy. So how windy is it? How rainy is it? Definitely has an effect on the calls in the game, the rhythm of the game, the aggressiveness of the game.”

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