Given the journey Arizona State has been on this season, it’s no surprise that Dillingham and his team are heartbroken after the loss. The Sun Devils suffered early losses to Texas Tech and Cincinnati, but were able to stay in the CFP race by winning the final five games of the regular season. They punched their ticket to the playoffs with a Big 12 championship win over Iowa State.

On Wednesday, Arizona State appeared to be on its way to a loss to Texas, entering halftime trailing 17-3.

But the resilient Sun Devils, behind the heroics of star running back Cam Skattebo, got back into the game. They were down 24-8 early in the final quarter, but scored on a two-point conversion to make it 24-16.

Defensively, they beat Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers before using offense to tie the game.

Arizona State scored first in overtime and the Longhorns responded, sending the game into double overtime. After Texas scored first, an interception on the other end sealed the win for Texas.

Although they didn’t achieve their goal of winning a national championship, it was a year of tremendous growth for Dillingham and the Sun Devils. They went just 3-9 in Dillingham’s first season a year ago before going 11-3 this year and winning a conference title in their first season as Big 12 members. Arizona State also won 11 games for the first time since 1996.

It’s clear that Dillingham and the Sun Devils are on an upward trajectory, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them right back in the College Football Playoff next season.