ASU football head coach Kenny Dillingham speaks on ‘Activating the Valley’
“Activate the Valley” has become the calling card for ASU coach Kenny Dillingham. After the win over BYU, it looks like the Valley has been activated.
The Arizona State football team was picked to finish last (16th) in the Big 12 Conference at the beginning of the season.
After their 28-23 win over BYU on Saturday, the Sun Devils now find themselves picked to make the College Football Playoff as one of the top 12 teams in the country, according to some recent projections.
And some of those projections have ASU football earning the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff and the bye that comes with it into the quarterfinals.
You couldn’t have seen that coming at the beginning of the season. Kenny Dillingham’s team was 3-9 overall last season. This season? It is 9-2 overall and 6-2 in the Big 12, tied with Iowa State, BYU and Colorado for the conference lead with one regular-season game remaining.
Fiesta Bowl for Arizona State in College Football Playoff?
The Athletic has the Sun Devils projected to be the No. 4 seed, getting the first-round bye in the playoff as the fourth-highest-ranked conference champion.
It has No. 4 ASU playing in the Fiesta Bowl, taking on the winner of No. 5 Oregon and No. 12 Boise State in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal.
The Fiesta Bowl is played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. Wouldn’t that be something?
Steward Mandel writes of his projection: “I may be in the minority, but I’m skeptical a 12-1 Mountain West champ Boise State would remain above 11-2 Big 12 champ Arizona State/Iowa State. In fact, don’t be surprised if the Sun Devils jump from No. 22 to within shouting distance of the Broncos — who beat a 2-9 Wyoming team 17-13 on Saturday — this week coming off their win over No. 14 BYU. I would not feel the same about BYU or Colorado. Fun fact: If ASU does get the No. 4 seed, it will play a local quarterfinal game at the Fiesta Bowl.”
More Arizona State College Football Bowl projections
The Sporting News also has ASU earning the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff.
The site has the Sun Devils facing the winner of No. 12 Boise State and No. 5 Ohio State in the quarterfinals.
Bill Bender writes: “Behold the late-season darling. Arizona State beat BYU 28-23 after a bizarre finish in which fans stormed the field before the game was over – and the Cougars got to attempt a last-second Hail Mary that nearly worked. Cam Skattebo had 28 carries for 147 yards and three TDs against the Cougars. Arizona State has won four straight games heading into the Territorial Cup against Arizona.”
CBS Sports has ASU getting into the field as the No. 12 seed in the College Football Playoff.
The site has Arizona State facing Oregon in Eugene in the first-round game.
Brad Crawford writes: “Hats off to Kenny Dillingham. Arizona State is the new betting favorite to win the Big 12 following Saturday’s victory over BYU coupled with Colorado’s loss at Kansas. There’s a bunch of potential tiebreaking scenarios to work through next week, but Arizona State and Iowa State are both in the driver’s seat to meet two weeks from now at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.”
USA TODAY Sports also predicts that the Sun Devils will be the No. 12 seed in the College Football Playoff. The site predicts that ASU will take on No. 5 Ohio State in Columbus in the opening round.
ESPN interestingly had 13 writers make their predictions for the College Football Playoff and ASU makes the field in every projection.
Five writers have ASU as the No. 4 seed, while six have Arizona State at No. 12. The other two have the Sun Devils at No. 11.
The ASU football team wins a huge Big 12 game against No. 14 BYU
ASU football fans couldn’t contain themselves and stormed the field after an exciting win over No. 14 BYU on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.
Arizona State football’s College Football Playoff dream still alive
Of course, ASU has to defeat Arizona on Saturday to keep the dream of a College Football Playoff berth alive. Then, it would likely have to win the Big 12 championship game, should it make it, to get into the playoffs.
But the fact that the Sun Devils are in this position would have been considered something out of people’s wildest dreams at the beginning of the season.
Could Arizona State’s dream come true? Stay tuned.
The latest College Football Playoff rankings will be unveiled on the College Football Playoff rankings show on Tuesday at 6 p.m. MST on ESPN.
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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