Analyzing The Pac-12 Football Teams: Arizona State Sun Devils
Jul 24, 2014; Hollywood, CA, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Taylor Kelly and Arizona State Sun Devils offensive lineman Jamil Douglas poses for a photo during the Pac-12 Media Day at the Studios at Paramount. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
As Go Joe Bruin continues to look at the football teams of the Pac-12, we turn our attention to Tempe, Arizona, home of the reigning South Division winners, the Arizona State Sun Devils. After beating UCLA to claim the South, navigating through a tough Pac-12 for the top record in the conference and hosting the Pac-12 Championship Game for the first time, the Sun Devils are a team on the rise.
Unfortunately, en route to building a juggernaut, head coach Todd Graham has lost several players that were a part of his South Division winning team. Additionally, the Sun Devil exited last season on two down notes. The first was losing to Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game, which ASU hosted and the second was a 37-23 loss to Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl. The Sun Devils know how to win, which Graham has personal overseen, but now they need to finish the season strong
Key Losses
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- All-Pac-12 Second Team Defense
- Lead ASU in sacks with 8.5
- Lead ASU in tackles for a loss with 19
RB Marion Grice
- All-Pac-12 Second Team Offense
- 90.5 yards per game (4th in Pac-12), 996 goal yards (5th in Pac-12)
- 10.9 points per game (1st in Pac-12)
DT Will Sutton
- All-American First Team Offense
- All-Pac-12 First Team Defense
Key Returners
Jul 24, 2014; Hollywood, CA, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Taylor Kelly poses for a photo during the Pac-12 Media Day at the Studios at Paramount. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
RB D.J. Foster
- 2013 All-Pac-12 Notable Mention
- 501 rushing yards, 653 receiving yards, 6 touchdowns
QB Taylor Kelly
- All-Pac-12 Second Team Offense
- 259.6 yards per game (5th in Pac-12)
- 3,635 passing yards, 28 touchdowns
- 608 rushing yards,
- All-Pac-12 Second Team Offense
- 80.1 reception yards per game (6th in Pac-12), 1122 total yards (5th in Pac-12)
Coach Review: Todd Graham
Jul 24, 2014; Hollywood, CA, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Todd Graham talks to the media during the Pac-12 Media Day at the Studios at Paramount. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
In his third season as coach of the Sun Devils, Todd Graham is looking to repeat as winners of the South Division as well as try to claim a spot in the College Football Playoffs. And he is serious. He is even looking to get ASU a National Championship this year.
Although, because of all the experience he lost, if he was to get the Sun Devils a title, he would surely have to get “National Coach of the Year”. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Graham has to start things by finding a way to beat the bigger boys in the conference, specifically, Stanford. Arizona State lost to the Cardinal twice in 2013: Week 3, 42-28 and in the Pac-12 Championship Game, 38-14.
As good as the Sun Devils offense is, he needs to make it better to take on the likes of smash mouth teams in the Pac-12, which is slowing starting to include Oregon, USC and UCLA. For now, Graham has the edge as he smashed the Trojans in Tempe, which was the final straw to get former coach Lane Kiffin fired, but that is another story. The point is that Graham has the know-how to get this team national recognition and has already done a tremendous job turning this program around. Now it is about seeing how far the ASU HC can go, not just this season, but beyond.
2014 Schedule
Thu, Aug 28 vs. Weber State (Pac-12 Networks)
Sat, Sep 6 at New Mexico (CBS Sports Network)
Sat, Sep 13 at Colorado (ESPNU)
Thu, Sep 25 vs UCLA
Sat, Oct 4 at USC
Sat, Oct 18 vs Stanford
Sat, Oct 25 at Washington
Sat, Nov 1 vs Utah
Sat, Nov 8 vs Notre Dame
Sat, Nov 15 at Oregon State
Sat, Nov 22 vs Washington State
Fri, Nov 28 at Arizona (Fox)
2014 Season Outlook
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Plan and simple, it will be tough for any Pac-12 team to make it through the season relatively unscathed. It might be a bit harder for Arizona State to do that seeing as they lost a lot of their defense from last year, but on top of that, they have a hell of a schedule midway through the season. In consecutive weeks, they play UCLA, at USC, Stanford and at Washington, all of which are in the preseason Top 25 with the Sun Devils.
Now it is not out of the question for ASU to capture the South Division again, but they while have to play like they have never played before. Getting to the National Title Game and obtaining a championship against (what will be) a heavily-favored team is coming very close to a pipe dream.
ASU lost two games two end the season last year and that was with a loaded team. The Sun Devils do not have that anymore. Make no mistake that they will be stellar on offense behind Kelly. On defense, they will get run out of town. Unless Graham has a secret plan in place, the defense might take a pounding. Also, Arizona State are playing UCLA and USC and both teams have long memories. ASU beat USC to get their coach fired and they beat UCLA to snag the South Division. Those will be difficult games to win, especially since these two teams are slated to finish above ASU.
But we are not there yet. Everyone starts at 0-0. Arizona State’s journey starts this Thursday against Weber State and expect them to start the season with a “spark” of a season opener.