Kenny Dillingham’s remarkable success with Arizona State this season landed him a huge bonus, but he has decided to to give the cash to his staff.

Tthe Sun Devils’ head coach banked a $200,000 bonus for winning his ninth game of the season on Saturday, defeating BYU 28-23. The victory saw Arizona State rise to No. 16 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and a victory over rivals Arizona on Saturday will secure the Sun Devils’ place in the Big 12 championship game.

Arizona State’s success has been one of the most improbable storylines of the season. The Sun Devils went 3-9 last year, but with one game remaining in the regular season they control their College Football Playoff destiny.

And Dillingham wants his staff to share in the team’s success. This week, he informed 20 off-field staffers they will receive a $5,000-10,000 bonus – with the 34-year-old footing the bill, per Chris Karpman of 247.

Dillingham embarks on the biggest game of his coaching career so far on Saturday against the Wildcats at Arizona Stadium, but he has urged his players to approach it like any other game

“It’s about us going and playing and preparing like we do,” he said at his pregame press conference. “Like I’ve said to the team since I think week three, every game you win makes the next game the most important game.

Dillingham has overseen a remarkable turnaround in his second season with the Sun Devils

Dillingham has overseen a remarkable turnaround in his second season with the Sun Devils ( 

Image:

Bruce Yeung/Getty Images)

“And the more times you win the next game is more important. It doesn’t matter who you play, doesn’t matter where you play. It’s the most important game because you won the last one. And if you go and win, then the next game is more important than the game you just played.

“This is the most important game on our schedule because we put ourselves in position for it to matter, not just from a rivalry perspective but from a bigger perspective of achieving other aspirations.”

Dillingham is in his second season as the Sun Devils’ head coach after learning his craft as the offensive coordinator of Memphis, Auburn, Florida State and Oregon. He started coaching at the collegiate level aged just 24 in 2014 as an offensive assistant for the Seminoles.

His first season in charge of Arizona State was a chastening experience, with the nadir coming in a 59-23 defeat to Arizona at Mountain America Stadium. Dillingham admitted the blowout loss still stings.

“We got our butts kicked last year and got embarrassed, so it’s a game that matters,” Dillingham said. “If you weren’t here, the other guys on our team got embarrassed, I got embarrassed, so you better have a little bit about yourself when somebody embarrasses you like that.

“They’ve got the same quarterback, returning the same wide receiver. They’ve got a lot of the same players returning off that football team off a team that picked us apart.”