ESPN cameras capture an ‘incredibly frustrated’ Cam Skattebo

To say that Cam Skattebo was mad would be an understatement.

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

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

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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 before. 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 sidelines, which were captured by ESPN’s cameras and relayed by McGregor.

“Cam Skattebo is incredibly frustrated down here,” McGregor said. “After fourth-and-two stops, it was him on the sideline. Came down, threw the helmet; he’s really upset about the protection(s) or lack thereof. And he came up, stormed away from his coaches and said, ‘I done with this. We have a game to play.’ He has to find his balance 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 in Heisman Trophy consideration, even earning a vote from a Phoenix radio host even though he wasn’t a finalist.

“Well, remember, Skattebo made some headlines this week in the media when he said, ‘No one can stop me.’ And I think Texas took that into account,” ESPN’s Jesse Palmer said. “And (Arizona State head coach) Kenny Dillingham, he’s a guy as a head coach who doesn’t try to censor his players, but he said, ‘ There can be consequences for things you say’ and I think you should be. careful to poke the bear against this defense. Certainly, Texas showed up ready to roll.”

“And Kenny said to us yesterday, ‘Listen, there are some people who just need it — it’s okay if they say it. Speak it into existence.’ But, man, oh man, was Texas aware of that,” Joe Tessitore added. “You saw Pete Kwiatkowski, (Texas’) defensive coordinator, and give it the look of, ‘I think we’ve got some guys that can match you’.”

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

Cam Skattebo may have poked the bear, but by halftime it was clear the Longhorns had brought a whole lot to the Peach Bowl.

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