Arizona State’s trip to London is over. The Sun Devils got the win, but their body clocks are still trying to figure out what happened. Head coach Kenny Dillingham gave a glimpse into just how badly the long trip messed with the team’s sleep schedule after Arizona State’s 24-17 win over Kansas at Wembley Stadium on Sept. 19. The best example came from his own three-year-old son, Kent.

“We’re still all messed up,” Kenny Dillingham said via FOX10Phoenix’s Blake Niemann. “Like my son woke up at whatever 12:45, wide awake. I’m like, awesome. This is great. And so everybody’s still trying to figure out the time zone.”

It was a funny little family moment, but it also summed up what the whole Arizona State program was dealing with after flying thousands of miles across the Atlantic. Kenny Dillingham had spent most of the trip treating London like a business trip. There was little sightseeing and plenty of preparation from the team hotel. But after the final whistle at Wembley, there was at least one moment when the coach could step away from football.

Following the victory, Kenny Dillingham celebrated with Kent sitting happily on his shoulders during the postgame scene at Wembley. It was a memorable image after an exhausting week.

Arizona State traveled roughly 5,000 miles for the historic game, while Kansas had an extra day of rest after playing its previous game on Friday at home. The Sun Devils still found a way to leave Wembley with a win, but Kenny Dillingham knows the effects of the trip will not disappear overnight. That is why he is treating this week differently from a normal bye.

“I gave the players pretty much off,” he said. “And then tomorrow we’ll come practice for an hour and helmets. We’ll have one practice on Thursday just to try to not lose conditioning levels and like have a really hard practice and then give them off Friday, Saturday, Sunday.” 

The coach was not interested in throwing his players straight back into a normal workload while their sleep schedules were still out of sync.

“This is more, let’s get back to a normal status post the trip because it does take time to get back,” he said. “I can’t bring these guys back with their body clocks all messed up and say, let’s go have a 22-period practice, right? That’s not smart, especially with nine weeks straight. So it is a little bit different from a normal bye.”

It’s a well-deserved break if you think about their game. The Sun Devils needed plenty from their defense in London. Arizona State forced three turnovers and held Kansas to 0-for-3 on fourth down. Hyrum Vaeono’s 75-yard fumble return set up a short touchdown that helped ASU pull away in the fourth quarter. But the biggest challenge after the win was not correcting a missed assignment or fixing the offense. It was getting some sleep.

Kenny Dillingham’s decision also shows how unusual this bye week is. Arizona State normally would use the extra time to spend more hours on the field cleaning up mistakes. This time, the priority is recovery after an international trip.

The London experience still left a lasting impression on the team. Kenny Dillingham said several players told him they wanted to return to London after getting a taste of the city during the trip. For now, though, the Sun Devils need to get their clocks back on Arizona time. And apparently, so does the head coach’s youngest travel companion. 

Arizona State is 2-1 and will return to action Oct. 3 against Baylor. After a historic win at Wembley, the next challenge is getting everyone back to a normal sleep schedule.