Just a few hours after the College Football Playoff committee officially gave Arizona State a first round bye in the first ever 12-team playoff, head coach Kenny Dillingham spoke with the media on behalf of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, where his 12th ranked Sun Devils will play on the first day of the new year.
Dillingham began the press conference by sharing how excited the entire team is to be in the playoff and to have been named to the Peach Bowl:
"This is a great opportunity for our guys. They worked really hard to get to this moment. The Peach Bowl is going to get a group of guys who are going to compete hard for 60 minutes, or longer if that's what we need to do."
Dillingham confirmed that the team will have the next week off, beginning Monday, before they resume practice in preparation for the Peach Bowl. He jokingly referenced the perceived disrespect from the committee, adding practice will resume "when they realize we're still the worst team in this playoff, according to what everyone believes."
Dillingham also said that the team will make its way to Atlanta a week prior to the game in an effort to get everyone's internal clocks adjusted to east coast time well before kickoff arrives.
Dillingham took a moment to address the impact of the playoff selection on recruiting:
"Hopefully, it helps in recruiting. Every 10 to 15 years a new brand shows up and becomes a national brand. I believe the pitchfork and the brand we have here can do that. "
When asked about the plan for transfer portal recruiting, for which the window opens on Monday, Dillingham didn't mince words with what he's looking for:
"We need a receiver. We have a lot of good wideouts that we're about to lose. And Skat's about to leave, and he's pretty good.
It's a testament to the culture we have. That's really what matters: the people that transfer here love it and the people who are here want to be here. I tell everyone I sign that my job is to sign someone better than you, and that will be true forever."
While Dillingham highlighted receiver and running back as the two biggest needs in the portal, he also mentioned wanting to add one or two offensive linemen as well as a defensive end, a defensive tackle, and a safety.
Dillingham also took a moment to reflect on what this moment means for the program and to him as an Arizona native and Arizona State alum:
"Me being from here and me being a fan, growing up, it's definitely super exciting to see the Valley getting excited. When I first got here, I said 'activate the valley' and we're one of the few towns and college football programs where a major city can get behind, because we didn't have any pro teams until recently. "