ESPN cameras capture an ‘incredibly frustrated’ Cam Skattebo

To say Cam Skattebo was pissed off would be an understatement.

Fuming may be a more fitting adjective, or, as ESPN’s Taylor McGregor put it, “incredibly frustrated.”

Do you think Cam Skattebo is pissed off? pic.twitter.com/ZLBbiMZ0sJ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 1, 2025

During the first half of Wednesday’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between Arizona State and Texas, the 22-year-old senior running back faced what Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty did less than 24 hours prior. He was held in check by the Longhorns, as the Sun Devils failed to do much of anything offensively to open up the running game.

With quarterback Sam Leavitt running for his life and Skattebo unable to run at all, the Sacramento State transfer aired his grievances on the sideline, which was captured by ESPN’s cameras and relayed by McGregor.

“Cam Skattebo is incredibly frustrated down here,” said McGregor. “After the fourth-and-two stop, this was him on the sideline. Came down, threw his helmet; he’s really upset with the protection(s) or lack thereof. And he came up, stormed away from his coaches, and said, ‘I’m done with this. We have a game to play.’ He has to find his poise in order to get back into this game.”

In the game’s first 30 minutes, Skattebo had 13 rushes for 45 carries, adding three catches for nine yards. Not exactly a performance that saw him be in Heisman Trophy consideration, even earning a vote from a Phoenix radio host, despite not being a finalist.

“Well, remember, Skattebo made some headlines this week in media when he said, ‘Nobody can stop me.’ And I think Texas took account of that,” said ESPN’s Jesse Palmer. “And, [Arizona State head coach] Kenny Dillingham, he’s a guy as a head coach that doesn’t try to censor his players, but he said, ‘There might be consequences for things you say,’ and I think you gotta be careful poking the bear against this defense. Certainly, Texas showed up ready to roll.”

“And Kenny said to us yesterday, ‘Listen, there’s some people that just need that — it’s OK if they say it. Speak it to existence.’ But, man, oh man, was Texas aware of it,” Joe Tessitore added. “You saw Pete Kwiatkowski, [Texas’] defensive coordinator,r giving that look like, ‘I think we got some guys that can match up with you.'”

And the Longhorns did, for the first half at least.

Cam Skattebo may have poked the bear, but by halftime, it was clear the Longhorns had brought an entire den to the Peach Bowl.

[Awful Announcing on X]