Head coach Kenny Dillingham believed this ranked victory was an encouraging sign for the potential of his team. 

“It’s like we’re dancing in circles around the potential,” Dillingham said. “We’re winning games and not playing our best football.”

Leading into Friday night, Dillingham stressed the importance of the matchup with No. 24 TCU and implored the ASU fan base to show up in full force.

“We need the fans there,” Dillingham said in advance of the game. “We don’t just need you there. I need you loud.”

Throughout the day on Friday, the Tempe area experienced torrential rain, strong winds, hail, and flash flooding.

Dillingham admitted he wondered whether the inclement weather would curtail the size and energy of the faithful at Mountain America Stadium.

“Through the rain, I was like, ‘Man, are people not gonna come because they’re worried about the start time?’” Dillingham said.

The third-year head coach’s worries were unwarranted, as the Sun Devil spirit couldn’t be washed away. ASU’s fans filled Mountain America Stadium with a sea of black.

The crowd included more than 10,000 students for the third consecutive home game, the first time in the program’s history. Dillingham believes the excitement among students and the rest of the Sun Devils’ fan base is a result of the program's success.

“I think we’re starting to create a demand, that if you’re not at the football game, where are you?” Dillingham said… “When we say, ‘Activate the Valley…’ that’s what it is.”

This historic crowd, however, became uneasy after the Horned Frogs jumped out to a 17-0 lead, thanks in part to a missed 46-yard field goal attempt by ASU senior kicker Jesus Gomez in the second quarter. 

The Sun Devils came storming back with 17 points unanswered to tie the game and eventually prevailed over TCU. However, the rest of the game continued to be riddled with frustrating moments.

“We should’ve probably put up another 45 points in that game,” redshirt sophomore quarterback Sam Leavitt said.

The ASU offense stalled multiple times in and near the red zone, with one such drive culminating in another missed field goal by Gomez. 

The opportunities were aplenty in the second half, but the Sun Devils failed to capitalize and trailed by seven until past the two-minute timeout in the fourth quarter.

“We still played terrible in the red zone–a lot of that’s on me,” Leavitt said.

With 1:50 remaining in the fourth quarter, ASU broke the seal on the goal line that had remained intact for the entirety of the second half. Then, after a strip sack from redshirt senior defensive lineman Prince Dorbah–one of six team sacks on the night–set the Sun Devils up in Horned Frog territory, Gomez drilled the eventual game-winning field goal.

“I never had a doubt [Gomez would make the kick],” Dillingham said. “If we had to kick a 56-yarder to win that thing, I wouldn’t have looked. He would have made it.”

This calm in the face of adversity is something the entire team takes pride in embodying.

“[I have] nothing but faith in [my teammates], and that calms you down,” Leavitt said.

Dillingham noticed the levelheaded temperament of his squad.

“Our guys are calm,” Dillingham said. “There was never a panic in the football game.”

After another night that included frustration and several missed opportunities, ASU once again found a way to come out with a victory.

The Sun Devils’ pair of messy Big 12 victories came against two formidable opponents in Baylor, which took down No. 17 Southern Methodist in week 2, and TCU, which came into Friday’s game ranked No. 24 in the nation and is widely considered a threat to win the Big 12.

“Up to this point in the season, only one team that we’ve faced has lost a game other than us,” Dillingham said.

Dillingham praised TCU in particular after the hard-fought victory over the Horned Frogs.

 “That’s a really, really good football team,” Dillingham said. “They’re going to win a lot of games this year.”

Overall, for Dillingham, the best thing he took away from Friday’s win, as well as last week’s, was what he didn’t see. The Sun Devils are beating high-quality teams, and he believes they’re far from reaching their ceiling.

“That’s the thing I feel best about,” Dillingham said. “We haven’t quite clicked full-cylinder.”