ATLANTA — Arizona State is not lacking confidence heading into the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game against Texas in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, particularly when it comes to the Sun Devils’ two best offensive players.
“There’s nobody out there that can stop me,” running back Cam Skattebo said during Monday’s media day availability.
Sam Leavitt, meanwhile, stood behind comments he made that he is going to prove he is the better quarterback in Wednesday’s game.
Skattebo, who finished No. 5 in Heisman Trophy voting, was asked repeatedly about facing the No. 1 defense in the country and how he’d be affected by the Longhorns’ plan to try to stop him.
“They continue to keep saying that people are going to try to stop me,” Skattebo said. “There’s nobody out there that can stop me. We played in 13 games, and I’ve been the target on each one, so I’m not too worried. We’re going to play our game and play ball and see what happens there.
“If they’re studying hard, there’s a reason. I have full respect for them, because they understand what they’re playing against, and that’s why I love playing in games like this, because they constantly look at me as a threat, and that’s something I’ve always wanted to be. And if I’m a threat on the football field against an SEC team that was the runner-up to win their conference, then I think I’m in a pretty good position.”
Skattebo had a breakthrough senior season, rushing for 1,568 yards and 19 touchdowns while catching 37 passes for 506 yards and three touchdowns. He was not invited to New York to attend the Heisman ceremony, however, and instead watched it with his girlfriend.
“I was like, we got bigger plans. There’s still more goals to achieve,” Skattebo said. “I was a little upset, but I’m not too worried.”
Arizona State offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo said facing this Texas defense will be the biggest challenge for his offense to date.
“We haven’t played against a defense like this,” Arroyo said. “They’re good from top to bottom. This is the best defense in college football right now, but to know what our guys are going to do against them in the matchups — we’ve got to be patient, we’ve got to find our spots. You’ve got to be disciplined because you can’t go off script with this group. They’ll create negative plays. They won’t allow those extra yards that you think you can find somewhere else.”
Skattebo said the Sun Devils’ size and physicality is the key.
“We can outweigh them a little bit at times,” Skattebo said. “And if we continue to do that and be more physical than them, I think this game would go our way for sure.”
Leavitt, meanwhile, said Saturday that he was looking forward to squaring off against the Longhorns’ Quinn Ewers and proving “why I’m the better quarterback.”
Those comments went viral, something Leavitt noticed himself when he looked at his phone.
“Cool,” Leavitt said of the reaction. “You know, get my name out on the stage a little bit more. I don’t feel like publicity is bad, especially if you’re not saying anything.
“… It’s just an opportunity for me to go prove myself. … I hope that every player on the field feels that they’re the best. That’s how it should be. You put all this work in and get to this stage. So why would you not believe that yourself?”
Leavitt, a redshirt freshman, transferred to Arizona State from Michigan State and has emerged as one of the top young quarterbacks in the country. In his past six games, he has thrown 16 touchdown passes and just one interception.
“We’ve got a quarterback who believes he’s really, really good, is one of the best in the country — if not the best in the country,” Arroyo said. “Believes he’s going to play on Sundays. Believes in everything he does. It’s when the microphone was in front of him that he got a chance to let everybody know that, and that’s OK.
“He tells us that all the time. We already knew that. It’s not a surprise to us. It just makes for good conversation topics. I bet Quinn says the same thing, because those are the quarterbacks that are in this position most of the time. They have this uncanny belief in themselves all the time.”
