‘Great accomplishment’ for Colorado defense to slow down ASU star

BuffsBeat’s Josh Tolle found one of the most important takeaways of October 7’s Colorado football 27-24 last-second victory over ASU in Tempe to be the defense slowing down Sun Devils star Cameron Skattebo.

“Nobody will win an award for playing inspired, but holding Cameron Skattebo to 60 total yards is a great accomplishment,” Tolle prefaced before saying, “The do-it-all ASU standout was held in check and made the Sun Devils’ offense scramble to find playmakers.”

Skattebo was held to a rushing average of just 3.8 yards per game with 49 yards on 13 carries against Coach Prime and Charles Kelly’s Buffs defense. Though he found the end zone once, he didn’t find a way to break out for a run of more than 11 yards.

Possible reason ASU’s Cameron Skattebo struggled against Colorado football

As ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham revealed following the Week 6 win for Colorado football to reporters, Skattebo had been sick the entire week leading into the October 7 showdown.

“He was out all week, didn’t practice,” Dillingham said (h/t The Arizona Republic). “Sick and then a few other banged up injuries so we were trying to get some of the young bucks running. We couldn’t use him as a lead guy because he was sick and had he had the ailing things.”

If true, the Buffs dodged a major bullet en route to their fourth win of the 2023 season. Skattebo broke out for over 100 yards against USC and went for nearly 1,400 yards during the 2022 season. In Week 6, he was performing nowhere near his own standards.

With ASU having little to play for during the 2023 season, with their postseason eligibility stripped due to the sins of the Herm Edwards era, there’s little reason for Dillingham to lie. Especially with the respect Coach Prime shared he had for the ex-Oregon/FSU/Auburn offensive coordinator during game week.