TEMPE – Long ago, when Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham was just a young graduate assistant with the Sun Devils, he took a trip to Tucson to study with the University of Arizona’s offensive staff.
His goal?
To learn the system of one of college football’s most innovative offensive minds: then-Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez.
Things are different now.
The 35-year-old Dillingham is the head man for the Sun Devils, while Rodriguez returns to Arizona, this time as the coach of West Virginia in his second stint in Morgantown. The 6-3 Sun Devils host the 4-6 Mountaineers Saturday at Mountain America Stadium in a Big 12 clash.
Despite the passage of time, Dillingham still remembers studying Rodriguez’s offenses.
“I got to cross paths with him a lot,” Dillingham said. “He opened doors for me to go down there (Arizona) and study with their offensive staff, very similar to how they opened the doors for me here. I would go down there and try to steal as much as I could.”
As a young offensive mind, Dillingham pilfered aspects of Rodriguez’s spread offense and instituted them into his own, including the now widely used run-pass option.
“He was one of the innovators in the zone-read world with the quarterback (and) one of the innovators in the RPO world (and) taking the game to the extended triple option.”
Rodriguez spent six years at Arizona before being fired in the midst of sexual harassment allegations, finishing with a 43-35 overall record in Tucson. He said he engaged in an extramarital affair but denied allegations of sexual misconduct, and a lawsuit filed by his former administrative assistant was dismissed in 2021.
Despite finding success in the desert, including a 2014 season where Arizona finished 10-4 and appeared in the Fiesta Bowl, Rodriguez struggled against his in-state rival. He garnered just a 2-4 mark against the Sun Devils as the Wildcats’ coach. He also hasn’t won at Mountain America Stadium, going winless in three visits to Tempe.
Still, earlier this week, Rodriguez grinned while reminiscing about his time competing against ASU in the Territorial Cup.
“Typical to college athletic rivalries, there was that true hatred of the two schools,” Rodriguez said. “It’s in the same state, in the same conference and there were a lot of recruiting battles against each other. There was no love lost whatsoever… I’ve always thought they’ve had a great environment. They’re in a great location for recruiting, and Kenny and his staff have done a really great job there.”
Rodriguez made a few stops after leaving Arizona, ultimately reuniting with his alma mater, West Virginia, this past offseason.
Along the way, he’s added a few wrinkles to his offensive philosophy, although, at its core, its identity has remained largely the same.
“What’s impressive about him is some people have reinvented the game and then got stagnant,” Dillingham said. “He reinvented the game and has always stayed a step ahead of the game as well.”
Rodriguez’s spread-heavy offense emphasizes running the football, and at a high frequency.
West Virginia ranks sixth in the nation in rushes per game (45.4) and averages 182.2 yards per game. The rushing attack will test an ASU defense that has been mostly strong against the run – ranking 34th in the country and third in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed per game (127.5) – but struggled at times against the quarterback run.
Both Utah quarterback Devon Dampier and Houston quarterback Connor Weigman amassed over 100 yards rushing this season against ASU, leading to two of the Sun Devils’ three losses this year.
“They utilize their quarterback in the run game,” Dillingham said. “Whether it’s direct runs, inverted reads, traditional zone reads, they use every bit of their quarterback in the run game … that’s why coach Rodriguez has always won games. He’s dedicated to the plus-one run.”
It hasn’t just been one signal-caller getting it done for the Mountaineers.
Injuries forced West Virginia to start four different quarterbacks this season, with true freshman Scotty Fox Jr. the latest to step in under center.
“He throws a beautiful deep ball,” ASU defensive coordinator Brian Ward said. “He’s really efficient in terms of creating explosives… They’re going to direct run the quarterback when they need him to. If they feel like they’re slowing down, their answer is to run the quarterback.”
Similar to the Sun Devils this fall, the Mountaineers have dealt with a plethora of injuries, making for a rocky first season in Rodriguez’s return. Despite a 2-5 record in the Big 12, the Mountaineers still have plenty to play for, including a bowl game.
While the teams won’t be playing for the Territorial Cup on Saturday, Rodriguez expects an unfriendly welcome when he returns to a familiar stadium.
“I’ll probably hear a few things,” Rodriguez said. “There might be some stuff yelled at (me) out there, but it won’t be the first time it happened. I’ve heard it up there before.”
For Dillingham, it’s another opportunity to face off against a coach he looked up to while climbing the coaching ranks.
“Coach Rodriguez is a guy I’ve studied for a long time (with) his offense dating back to when I was a high school coach out here and he was a head coach (in) the state,” Dillingham said. “He did a phenomenal job down there (Arizona). (He) always won a lot of football games. So for us, and for me, this is a really good challenge.”
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