Scott Frost and Arizona State have been crossing paths for a long time, and the connection goes back to one brutal September night in 1996.
That was when Frost was Nebraska’s quarterback and the No. 1 Cornhuskers rolled into Sun Devil Stadium carrying a 37-game regular-season winning streak.
Arizona State snapped it with a 19-0 win, a game defined by Nebraska’s three fumbles and three safeties. Frost’s own postgame summary still says plenty: “If you want to know the story of the game, we lost three fumbles and had three safeties,” Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost said on Sept.
21, 1996. “That’s the ballgame right there.”
Nebraska moved on from that loss quickly enough, finishing 11-2 in 1996 and winning the national championship the next season. But the Arizona State tie never really disappeared. More than 30 years later, Frost is back in the matchup, only now he’s on the sideline as UCF’s head coach and the game is in Orlando at the Bounce House.
Kenny Dillingham has his own memory of that building, and it is not a pleasant one. In Monday’s press conference, he brought up the last time he coached there, saying, “The last time I was at this place (UCF), we lost 56, or 54, to like, 47 in overtime versus UCF, when I was at Memphis in the championship game of the American (Conference), and we lost because our tight end, I kid you not-versus Scott Frost, it just drives me nuts-blocked the defensive end, he pushed him back so far the ball fell into (the defensive end's arms) and boom, picked it off on the goal line.
It gives me nightmares, still, so that’s my vision of this place. But the Bounce House is a place that’s always rocking.
Great environment, and like I said, that’s my last memory there, and obviously (Head) Coach (Scott) Frost was there at the same time.”
Frost, for his part, kept the focus on respect when he spoke this week. “Coach Dillingham, and I’ve known him for a long time.
His brother-in-law is one of my better friends in the world, Aaron. I was down around, I went to a game (at ASU) in 2023.
So, fairly familiar with the school and everything about it, and I think there are a lot of similarities. Being in a city, one of the biggest schools in the country, and again, a lot of respect for him (Dillingham).” - UCF HC Scott Frost
There’s no real bad blood here, and no need to force one. Still, these matchups have a way of leaving a mark.
In 2024, UCF lost to Arizona State and then dropped its remaining regular-season games, finishing 4-8 and missing a bowl. Arizona State, meanwhile, won out, rode an undefeated November to the conference championship, and kept climbing.
The Frost-Dillingham connection stretches back even farther than that. Frost beat Dillingham’s Memphis team in the 2017 AAC Championship, and UCF went on to beat LSU in the Peach Bowl while Memphis fell to Iowa State in the Liberty Bowl.
And if you want the deepest cut of all, Arizona State’s 1996 win over Nebraska helped launch its run to a PAC-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth, leaving the Sun Devils one drive short of a national championship. Nebraska, coming off back-to-back national titles, lost in the Big 12 championship and finished outside the top five. Dillingham was six years old then.
So while nobody is calling this a rivalry, the thread is impossible to miss. Scott Frost and Arizona State keep ending up in the same story, and Saturday in Orlando adds another chapter. Both teams are one win away from bowl eligibility, and if the pattern holds, one side will walk out feeling a lot better than the other.
In Other News...
Arizona States Orlando Trip Just Got More Complicated At The Worst Time
Arizona States trip to Orlando hit an unexpected snag on Friday when the teams charter plane was delayed by a nationwide FAA ground stop ordered for safety reasons. What should have been a routine travel day suddenly turned into a waiting game, with the delay now threatening to push the Sun Devils departure to around 9 p.m. local time.
For a team trying to stay on schedule ahead of an upcoming game, the timing could hardly be worse. The disruption is not limited to Arizona State, either, as other college football teams are dealing with the same ground stop and its ripple effects could even touch the slate of games on Nov. 14. [Read more 🡒]
UCF Brings A Major Offensive Concern Into Arizona State Game
UCF is heading into its matchup with Arizona State carrying a few notable offensive questions, starting with the absence of running back Duke Watson because of injury. The Knights also listed wide receiver Waden Charles as doubtful and tight end Caden Piening as questionable, which leaves their skill group in a less certain spot than they would prefer against a Sun Devils defense that will be paying close attention.
There is at least some encouraging news on the other side of the ball, with linebacker Lewis Carter probable to return after missing multiple games. Even so, UCF still has several defensive backs sidelined, so the roster picture remains a little uneven as the Knights try to sort through their availability before facing Arizona State. [Read more 🡒]
Arizona State Heads Into A High-Stakes UCF Clash Fans Will Feel
Arizona State heads to Orlando on Saturday for a matchup with Central Florida that carries far more weight than a typical November road trip. It is the first meeting between the programs since 2024 and only the third time they have ever lined up against each other, with both teams entering the game with identical records and bowl eligibility very much in play.
The history between the Sun Devils and Knights is still short, but the stakes this time are easy to understand for both sides. With postseason positioning on the line, this one has the feel of a late-season test that could shape how the rest of the year is remembered, and fans will be able to follow along with the broadcast details as the game approaches. [Read more 🡒]