Well before that run, though, Skattebo had an intense conversation with Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
On “The Dan Patrick Show” on Thursday, a day after the 39-31, double-overtime loss, Skattebodiscussed the animated sideline interaction.
“We talked a little bit, you know?” Skattebo said. “I got a little frustrated, just where we were standing as a team and how we were playing. I didn’t understand what was going on fully.
“We talked about it, and then I walked over there after I was a little upset and let him know, ‘Hey, sorry for getting upset, but I got your back from here on out. Let’s go. Let’s rock.’ … He trusts the fact that I’m gonna keep going, even when I’m upset.”
Dillingham defended Cam Skattebo’s zeal in his news conference after the defeat.
“If him being competitive and passionate on the sideline is a negative, then I’m in the wrong sport,” Dillingham said. “The kid is competitive. The kid is passionate. And if that’s a negative, then I don’t know what a positive is because kids that care … is the exact reason why we had a chance to win this football game.”
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Cam Skattebo finished with 242 yards from scrimmage, two rushing touchdowns and a passing score. He was irked by his workload early on, but his usage picked up as the late drama came about.
“Personally, I was a little upset that I wasn’t touching the ball as much as I wanted to,” Skattebo said. “Obviously, not just running the ball, but catching the ball out of the backfield. I kind of took a step back and realized at halftime what I needed to do. It was to be a better teammate and keep those guys uplifted.
“I knew that if I did that, the team confidence would stay high and we would continue to fight.”
Cam Skattebo bruises defenders
Cam Skattebo also said that he doesn’t have a rusher that he models his game after, but “takes bits and pieces from” guys like San Francisco 49ers star Christian McCaffery, Seattle Seahawks great Marshawn Lynch, former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram and former Pittsburgh Steelers tailback Le’Veon Bell.
His bruising nature takes a toll on him as much as those doing their best to drag him down.
“Going into the game, I understood that I was going to have to do a lot,” Skattebo said.”I know every game is a brutal battle. With me, how I run, the physicality I run with, I know I’m gonna come out banged up. I’m hoping that, you know, they come out a little more banged up. … I understand that, when I run, it’s gonna make me not feel so good the next day.”
