Cam Skattebo 4 Heisman? Sun Devil star getting national love ahead of Big 12 title game

Arizona State football is in a position it hasn't been in for at least a decade. With a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game booked for Saturday, the Sun Devils will be playing for a conference crown for the first time since 2013.

It's also the first time the program has won 10 games since 2014, likely to find itself within the Top 15 of the College Football Playoff selection committee's rankings on Tuesday. ASU got as high as No. 6 in 2014, the inaugural year of the four-team format, before ultimately slipping in the final weeks of the regular season.

But that team didn't have running back Cam Skattebo. Seemingly ASU's secret weapon on offense, he's finally been getting the love and respect from the national spotlight he deserves.

So much so, multiple major outlets are putting Skattebo in position to be considered a possible Heisman Trophy finalist this year.

Monday, both ESPN and On3 Sports are advocating for Skattebo's credentials to be New York City-bound as one of the three finalists. The latter released its Week 15 poll results which placed him at No. 5 amongst eligible players.

ESPN's Max Olsen wrote "it's time to acknowledge one more deserving underdog," adding "if Arizona State knocks off the Iowa State Cyclones to win the Big 12, Heisman voters had better be ready to put Skattebo on their ballot. He's having a program-changing impact for the Sun Devils, and he's not done yet."

Does Skattebo have enough runway left to get his Heisman campaign off the ground?

With possibly just one game remaining in his college career, Skattebo has an opportunity to bolster his Heisman credentials with another signature monster effort.

Nationally, he ranks second behind Boise State's Ashton Jeanty in missed tackles forced and all-purpose yards, racking up over 100 yards in nine of 11 contests this season. Not to mention, he's done all that having missed a game with a shoulder injury just a few weeks ago.

Granted, Skattebo will probably need a little help on top of a Herculean MVP performance in a must-win Big 12 title game. He sits behind two quarterbacks: Oregon's Dillon Gabriel and Miami's Cam Ward.

Ward already will miss Week 15 due to his team failing to clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game and potentially the College Football Playoff altogether. Gabriel will lead the Ducks in the Big Ten Championship Game and would need to play very poorly to convince Heisman voters to replace him as a finalist.

In any case, its just nice to have a Sun Devil in serious Heisman consideration for the first time in almost 30 years. The highest an ASU player has ever finished in Heisman voting was third place in 1996 (QB Jake Plummer).