Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham has agreed to a five-year contract extension on the eve of the Sun Devils’ College Football Playoff quarterfinal game, according to reports Wednesday.

Dillingham will receive a pay increase and substantial bonus increases.

The contract extension was first reported by ESPN.

The 34-year-old Dillingham orchestrated one of the biggest turnarounds in recent college football history, taking the No. 12 (CFP) Sun Devils from three wins a year ago to the playoff and a New Year’s Day Peach Bowl matchup against No. 3 Texas. The game ended too late for this edition.

Dillingham has already picked up significant bonuses during Arizona State’s run, which included a Big 12 championship in the Sun Devils’ first year in the league after being picked to finish last in the preseason poll.

The former Oregon offensive coordinator was the youngest head coach in the FBS when he took over a struggling Arizona State program at 33 last year. The Sun Devils were hit hard by injuries during his first season while playing with the cloud of an NCAA investigation into recruiting practices by former coach Herm Edwards.

The uber-enthusiastic Dillingham pushed all the right buttons this season, leading a team that won six straight games into the CFP for the first time. Dillingham made a shrewd move by landing quarterback Sam Leavitt out of the transfer portal — among others — and has fully utilized running back Cam Skattebo, who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy vote.

LSU tops Baylor in Texas Bowl: Garrett Nussmeier threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns as LSU beat Baylor 44-31 in the Texas Bowl on Tuesday in Houston.

Nussmeier, who finished 24 of 34, tossed scoring passes of 10 yards and 1 yard to Trey’Dez Green and 41 yards to Chris Hilton Jr. in the first half as LSU (9-4) built a 34-17 halftime lead.

Nussmeier said the win gives LSU a “confidence boost” heading into next year.

“It’s definitely a good feeling to end the season with a win,” said Nussmeier, selected the game’s MVP. “It’s definitely something that we were looking forward to doing. It was one of our goals. Coach (Brian) Kelly said before the game that this is the start of 2025, so we wanted to make a statement. We talked about having that killer instinct.”

Hilton caught four passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Anderson had eight receptions for 91 yards for the Tigers, who finished the season with a three-game winning streak. LSU has won three straight bowl games.

Kelly was pleased with how the Tigers wrapped up 2024.

“I know cynics would say it’s disappointing,” he said. “It wasn’t disappointing. It was a team that was less than perfect because of inexperience. A team that gained experience. … To win nine games and win three in a row at the end, I’m just happy for our football team.”

Sawyer Robertson was 30 of 51 for a career-high 445 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears (8-5), who had their six-game winning streak snapped.

Ex-player to coach Jackrabbits: Former South Dakota State player and assistant Dan Jackson has been hired as the Jackrabbits’ new head coach, the school announced Tuesday night.

Jackson takes over for Jimmy Rogers, who left for Washington State after leading the Jackrabbits to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals.

Jackson was Idaho coach Jason Eck’s defensive coordinator this season and had been set to move to New Mexico for the same position under Eck before the SDSU job opened.

Jackson played for the Jackrabbits from 2003-05 and became a graduate assistant at SDSU in 2012, when the program began its current streak of 13 straight FCS playoff appearances.

He was elevated to cornerbacks coach in 2014 and also served as recruiting coordinator, special teams coordinator and assistant head coach under John Stiegelmeier before moving on to Northern Illinois following the 2019 season. Jackson coached two seasons at Northern Illinois, then was hired at Vanderbilt, where he coached defensive backs during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

The Jackrabbits, who won national titles in 2022 and 2023, finished this season 12-3 overall and as co-champions in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

TODAY’S bowl GAME

gator bowl

Duke (9-3, ACC) vs. Ole Miss (9-3, SEC) 6:30 CST (TBD) LOCATION: Jacksonville, Florida NOTABLE: All-SEC QB Jaxson Dart will make his final career start for No. 14 (CFP) Ole Miss, hoping to lead the Rebels to double-digit wins in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1959-60. Dart ranks fifth in the nation this season with 3,875 passing yards and has tossed 25 TDs with only six INTs. Duke will be without two key players. QB Malik Murphy, who set the school record with 26 TD passes this season, and RB Star Thomas entered the transfer portal.