Skattebo Named Doak Walker National Player of the Week

By: Connor Smith

See the full game recap with Box score, team stats and game leaders.

Tempe - Sun Devil Football running back Cam Skattebo is still earning national recognition thanks to his outstanding effort on Saturday night.

In Arizona State's 30-23 win over Mississippi State, Skattebo ran for a career-high 262 yards on 33 carries. He finished with the second-most rushing yards by a Sun Devil in a single game, trailing only Eno Benjamin's 312-yard outburst back in 2017. Because of his outstanding contributions, Skattebo continues to accumulate honors from national outlets. The latest is from the Doak Walker Award.

Doak Walker Award 
The Doak Walker Award, which is presented annually to the nation's premier running back, created a weekly honor to recognize ball carriers throughout the season. Cam Skattebo was named the Doak Walker Award National Running Back of the Week, the first Sun Devil to receive the distinction. Skattebo was also on the Doak Walker Award Preseason Watch List and looks to become Arizona State's first finalist for the award. Eno Benjamin was a semifinalist back in 2018. 

Associated press
The Associated Press (AP) tabbed Sun Devil running back Cam Skattebo as their National Player of the Week. The award is voted on by a panel of national writers assembled by the AP. This is the first year of the award and Skattebo becomes just the second recipient. This is his third career National Player of the Week honor, as he also took home Hornung Award Player of the Week twice in 2023.

Big 12 Conference 
The Big 12 Conference announced that Cam Skattebo was their selection for Offensive Player of the Week. Skattebo becomes the first Sun Devil to win a weekly conference award in Arizona State's new league. From 1983-2023, Sun Devils won a total of 150 Pac-10/12 Player of the Week Honors. Click here for a full list of recipients. 

Yes he Cam

• Cam Skattebo put together a record setting performance, playing a critical role in the Sun Devils 30-23 win over Mississippi State.
• Skattebo finished with 262 rushing yards, the second-most ever by a Sun Devil. It trails only Eno Benjamin's 312 yard effort vs. Oregon State on Sept. 29, 2018. He surpasses names like Ben Malone (251 yards in 1973), Leon Burton (243 yards in 1955), Art Malone (239 yards in 1968), and Wilford White (236 yards in 1950).
• 93 of Skattebo's yards came in the fourth quarter, including a game-best 39-yard run on the final drive to seal the victory. He becomes the first Sun Devil to go over 30 carries since Rachaad White had 32 carries against Washington on Nov. 13, 2021.
• It is the most rushing yards by one individual against Mississippi State since at least 2004.
• His 137 rushing yards at half was the most by a Sun Devil since Eno Benjamin had 185 against Oregon State on Sept. 29, 2018.
• He now has 14 total 100+ rushing yard performances in his career, with four coming at Arizona State.
• The 346 rushing yards by ASU were the eighth-most by the program since 1996.
• It is the most rushing yards Mississippi State has allowed to a team since triple option Georgia Tech ran for 452 yards in the Orange Bowl 12/13/14.
• Skattebo was also ASU's leading receiver, as he accounted for nearly 300 (297) all-purpose yards.

Stats on Skattebo 

• His 262 yards were 50 more than any other player in the FBS for the week. Skattebo rushed for 155 yards AFTER contact in the contest, which alone was more than all but seven players in the country had for TOTAL rushing  yardage in their games in Week 2.
• Skattebo had 19 first downs rushing against MSU, eight more than any other FBS player in Week 2. He had a first down/touchdown rate of 57.6, which was eighth in the country overall (min. 10 carries), but notable as no player ahead of him had more than 14 carries compared to his 33.
• Skattebo's 85.8 grade as a rusher from PFF is fourth among all FBS running backs this season and his Week Two grade of 84.6 was third among FBS backs - though the two ahead of him had just 14 and 13 rushes in their efforts.
• Skattebo is 7th among all active FBS AND FCS running backs with 2,992 career rushing yards while his 6.5 yards per carry are tied for fifth in that group. (min. 300 carries). He is third in the FBS this season with 311 yards and 18th at 7.1 yards per carry.
• He has forced 170 career missed tackles on rushing plays, 4th among active FBS/FCS halfbacks while his 0.37 missed tackles forced per rushing attempt are tied for third (min. 300 attempts). He is 13th in the FBS this season wtih 11 missed tackles forced on rushing plays.
• Skattebo has rushed for a first down or touchdown on 38.4 percent of his career carries, tops among all active FBS/FCS backs (min. 300 attempts). He has rushed for a first down or touchdown on 50.0 percent of his rushes this year, good for third in the FBS.
• He has been stuffed for no gain or a loss on just 8.7 percent of his career carries, good for the lowest tally among all active backs at both levels (min. 300 attempts). His 6.8 percent stuff rate this season is 14th in the FBS.
• He is currently averaging 3.9 yards after contact per career rush - tied for seventh among all active FBS/FCS backs. His 4.6 yards after contact per rush this season are 12th in the FBS and his 203 total yards after contact are third.

Came Skattebo Sun Devil 100-Yard Rushing tilts 
262 vs. Mississippi State, Sept. 7, 2024 (33 carries)
121 vs. Washington State, Oct. 28, 2023 (11 carries/1 TD)
111 vs. USC, Sept. 23, 2023 (20 carries/1 TD)
108 vs. Arizona, Nov. 25, 2023 (17 carries/1 TD)

Milestone watch

• Skattebo is 8 rushing yards away from reaching 3,000 rushing yards in his career (currently at 2,992). He is 45 all-purpose yards away from reaching 4,000 all-purpose yards in his career (currently at 3,955).
• He is also 167 receiving yards away from reaching 1,000 receiving yards in his career (currently at 833)
• Skattebo is 2 games played away from appearing in 40 games in his career (currently at 38)

The ASU victory...

• Is the first win over an SEC team in ASU's program history. ASU adds this victory to their three wins over Missouri and one over Oklahoma, but neither school was in the SEC at the time of those victories.
• Gives ASU a 2-0 start to the season where BOTH victories were over FBS schools for the first time since 2018 (UTSA/Michigan St.).
• Gives ASU three wins over its last five games dating back to last season.
• Ends Mississippi State' 10-game winning streak in non-conference games, dating back to Sept. 3, 2022.

Quotables
"I feel amazing. I think today was fun," Skattebo told the media after the game. "That's the most fun I've had in a football game in a long time, until the end. We had our ups and downs there, but that was fun. You can ask these guys up front. Pushing grown men that are 300 pounds, that's fun to us. That's fun to the front five, the front seven and a running back."

"It was awesome," Head Coach Kenny Dillingham reflected to reporters in reference to Skattebo's performance. "He has so much passion. The guys feed off the passion and I think that the key to our football team is how hard we play right now. Our guys love football. I mean, it sounds so simple. They love to compete and he's the ultimate competitor."