ASU ranked in the top 25

[FArting]

ASU into national rankings

Jeff Metcalfe
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 23, 2007 12:03 PM
Arizona State broke into the national rankings Sunday for the first time this season and the first time of the Dennis Erickson era.

The Sun Devils (4-0) are No. 23 in the Associated Press poll and No. 25 in the USA Today coaches poll. They play at Stanford (1-2, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

ASU also is No. 11 in the Sagarin computer rankings.

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The Sun Devils are among 23 teams still undefeated in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Four of those have new coaches: ASU (Dennis Erickson), No. 12 Boston College (Jeff Jagodzinski), No. 24 Cincinnati (Brian Kelly) and Michigan State (Mark Dantonio).

Erickson is the first ASU coach to have the Sun Devils ranked in the Associated Press poll in his first season.

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu/articles/0923asurank.html

 

[Skkorpion]

Go Devils! Rudy Carpenter played his ass off.

No letdown, please, because of the heady ranking. One game at a time.

 

[Nasser22]

I just saw that, pretty sweet. We are tied with Purdue for 25th though in USA Today and Yahoo has them at #25. Hopefully blowout over Stanford will put us over. #23 on Harris Interactive also...

 

[AsUdUdE]

I have to say I am a little surprised.. but this is good...

If we can take care of business against Wash St and Stanford, between this week and next week, we very well could be in the top 12-14 by Oct 6th....

one week at a time!

 

[HooverDam]

I have to say I am a little surprised.. but this is good...

If we can take care of business against Wash St and Stanford, between this week and next week, we very well could be in the top 12-14 by Oct 6th....

one week at a time!

I highly doubt they'd climb that high due to the weak schedule so far. If they beat Washington (and Washington wins between now and then), especially by a similar margin to what the Buckeyes did, maybe they'll go into the top 25.

I think voters are going to be very conservative w/ ASU since they've been such let downs lately. Furthermore, outside of USC its rare that Pac 10 teams are given the benefit of the doubt.

If ASU is 7-0 heading into the Cal game (which is also homecoming), I think SDS will be rocking, it'll be a ton of fun.

 

[Gee!]

This is an honest question not smack.. But how does ASU get ranked by playing a bunch of scrub teams?

 

[AZBALLER]

I think voters are going to be very conservative w/ ASU since they've been such let downs lately. Furthermore, outside of USC its rare that Pac 10 teams are given the benefit of the doubt.

I don't agree. You're mostly correct, but you leave out the DE factor. Voters respect DE, and will now start to give him the benefit of the doubt...

 

[AZBALLER]

This is an honest question not smack.. But how does ASU get ranked by playing a bunch of scrub teams?

They win.
Their coach has National Championship rings.

Edit: ASU's head coach earned the rings as a head coach.

Edit again: Check out the computer rankings...Apparently, ASU is currently underranked.

 

[Zeno]

Its great to see, lets hope they are still ranked when October ends. October will be a huge test with Washington and Cal at home.

 

[Mulli]

This is an honest question not smack.. But how does ASU get ranked by playing a bunch of scrub teams?

Don't ask Stoops, he wouldn't know.


Hah!!

 

[HooverDam]

This is an honest question not smack.. But how does ASU get ranked by playing a bunch of scrub teams?

SJSU was in a bowl last year and Oregon State is a middle of the road Pac10 team, not a 'scrub' team. OSU will most likely beat UofA, so they aren't necessarily 'scrubs'.

Most voters don't watch anywhere close to all of the games, and they obviously couldn't watch the OSU game since it wasnt on TV, so they said "hey ASU is a Pac 10 team, thats undefeated, with a great coach, and a bunch of teams ahead of them lost, Ill put them in the top 25". I dont see how its confusing or hard to figure out.

 

[MaoTosiFanClub]

SJSU is horrific. Who cares what they did last year (beating exactly no good teams in a bad conference. Congratulations, Tomey!), just look at what Stanford did to them a couple weeks ago. And Oregon State arguably has the worst QB's of any BCS team except Pitt.

That being said, ASU is where they belong as to their credit have taken care of business. It's where they'll likely end up as well, a fringe Top 25 team.

 

[Renz]

Don't ask Stoops, he wouldn't know.


Hah!!

Again, the Sun Devil fans bring up the U of A. Their obsession with Arizona is pathological.

 

[HooverDam]

The point I was trying to make was that its not like ASU is trying to intentionally trying to make up an all patsy OOC schedule. ASU tries to go w/ an A,B,C format, but since schedules are made up so far in advance, its tough to do sometime (i.e. Colorado was supposed to be their "A" team the past two years, next year it will be Georgia).

I think you are right about ASU being right around #25 or so at the end of the year, I have no delusions of them going to the Rose Bowl or anything, I'm hoping for a Sun or Holiday Bowl appearance depending on the breaks.

 

[Zeno]

That being said, ASU is where they belong as to their credit have taken care of business. It's where they'll likely end up as well, a fringe Top 25 team.

I agree with this assesment. They aren't as good as USC or Cal and the Oregon game in Oregon pushes the edge to them(although honestly it is not a good match up for ASU anyway). UCLA may have a slight edge being at home as well but I think ASU can pull that out.

I'll take 9-3 going in to a bowl game though...I could swallow 8-4 as well, its an improvement, baby steps with a new coach and all.

 

[ASUCHRIS]

I agree with this assesment. They aren't as good as USC or Cal and the Oregon game in Oregon pushes the edge to them(although honestly it is not a good match up for ASU anyway). UCLA may have a slight edge being at home as well but I think ASU can pull that out.

I'll take 9-3 going in to a bowl game though...I could swallow 8-4 as well, its an improvement, baby steps with a new coach and all.

7-0 shouldn't be a challenge, but I expect us to lose at least 2 of the 4 big games... (Oregon, UCLA, Cal, USC) Our offensive line needs to really play better to have any chance in any of these games. Having said that, I think under the right circumstances we can beat both Oregon and UCLA, and look forward to seeing what we can do against a really good team. Regardless, I believe that having Erickson will continue to help the team and hopefully improve recruiting.

 

[Trey]

Again, the Sun Devil fans bring up the U of A. Their obsession with Arizona is pathological.

Please. It works both ways, in regards to the two schools and their fans. Even worse, the "city" of Tucson, and it's residents, have the biggest inferiority complex on the face of the planet when it comes to their rival city.

 

[Trey]

This is an honest question not smack.. But how does ASU get ranked by playing a bunch of scrub teams?

Actually, as an ASU fan, I'd say we don't deserve to be ranked this high yet. Sure we've beaten a Big 12 and Pac 10 team, but looking at the "others receiving votes," I don't have any idea how this team would perform against Mich. St., Mich, Arkansas, Tennessee, etc. I'll need to see October come and go before I know anything about this team.

 

[HooverDam]

7-0 shouldn't be a challenge

I think they can do it, but 'shouldn't be a challenge' may be going a bit far. These are still Pac 10 teams they are facing, especially Washington, who's much improved could give them trouble. Their mobile QB against ASUs so far very poor D line has me worried.

 

[Treesquid PhD]

Actually, as an ASU fan, I'd say we don't deserve to be ranked this high yet. Sure we've beaten a Big 12 and Pac 10 team, but looking at the "others receiving votes," I don't have any idea how this team would perform against Mich. St., Mich, Arkansas, Tennessee, etc. I'll need to see October come and go before I know anything about this team.

That's not how rankings work, you can always debate what team would beat who where when why how, and tie illogical win streams together...well Mich lost to Appalachian state and they lost to Wobell state therefore Wobble state should beat ND because Mich beat ND...none of it matters because it's all speculation.

ASU is being rewarded for taking care of business and because they are a Pac 10 team, it's not like they are the only team in the nation that has beaten weak teams. Does Nebraska deserve to be top 25? after barely beating a weal BSU team? You can go down the line team by team and find examples like that, it doesn't apply exclusively to ASU no matter how ignorant you are about the rest of CF.

Not to mention OSU isn't a weak team, they have a very good defense and will probably upset someone this year once their QB gets a little experience. Of course people will down play it but the bottom line is you should never have to apologize for winning. It just astounds me to hear how OSU will be a tough challenge all week and then hear them discounted after ASU beats them.

Not to mention I hope you are going to games because we need you out there, don't wait until October to decide, get out there and root the team on. ASU is a good team, not top 10 great, but pretty damn good.

 

[Mulli]

Again, the Sun Devil fans bring up the U of A. Their obsession with Arizona is pathological.

MODS!!! The ASU fans are talking about U of A again.

 

[Trey]

That's not how rankings work, you can always debate what team would beat who where when why how, and tie illogical win streams together...well Mich lost to Appalachian state and they lost to Wobell state therefore Wobble state should beat ND because Mich beat ND...none of it matters because it's all speculation.

ASU is being rewarded for taking care of business and because they are a Pac 10 team, it's not like they are the only team in the nation that has beaten weak teams. Does Nebraska deserve to be top 25? after barely beating a weal BSU team? You can go down the line team by team and find examples like that, it doesn't apply exclusively to ASU no matter how ignorant you are about the rest of CF.

Not to mention OSU isn't a weak team, they have a very good defense and will probably upset someone this year once their QB gets a little experience. Of course people will down play it but the bottom line is you should never have to apologize for winning. It just astounds me to hear how OSU will be a tough challenge all week and then hear them discounted after ASU beats them.

Not to mention I hope you are going to games because we need you out there, don't wait until October to decide, get out there and root the team on. ASU is a good team, not top 10 great, but pretty damn good.

I understand how the rankings work, and I've defended ASU on the board on more than one occasion. I'm just saying that I, personally, still don't know how good this team is, or whether their ranking is justified. I'd like to believe that it is, but I need to see more before I can sit here with condfidence and say that ASU is better than Tennessee, Mich, etc.

And I'm not waiting until October to decide whether to support this team (I always do). When I lived in Phoenix, I went to the games. Now that I'm in Seattle, once or twice a year will have to suffice. Thankfully, for a measely $10 a month, DirecTV allows me to pick up all of the FSN stations, including FSNAZ, so I can catch their games on TV.

 

[Gaddabout]

I never get too caught up in rankings because one player in college football can make so much of a huge difference when the matchups are right.

For example, if Appalachian State ran the I-Formation, and came in with a traditional Big 10 drop back passer, Michigan would've pounded them by 40 points and we never would've had the upset of the year. But App State came in with a small QB who can get outside the pocket and create, which Michigan is just poorly equipped to deal with, and we got our upset.

The Devils better keep their heads on straight because Stanford, Wazzu, and Washington have the ability to throw up a lot of points on this defense. This is especially true if Marquardt and James are too hurt to play. T.C. Ostrander has some BIG targets to throw to. Alex Brink and that offense exploits pass coverage breakdowns as well as anyone in the conference. Washington has found the next great double threat QB, assuming he doesn't end up in four or five pieces before ASU gets to see him.

There's no easy win for ASU so that ranking kind of looms as suspect. The athleticism edge disappeared when Colorado walked off the field. The rest of the teams on the schedule actually excel with the forward pass (except that team I guess we're not supposed to mention, even though they're on the schedule).

 

[Mulli]

I am glad they are ranked. If they lose the next 4 I will say too bad.

 

[Skkorpion]

Zeno, I think ASU can beat Cal.

And Gaddabout, for somebody who claims to like ASU, you sure never miss an opportunity to run them down.

The Devils better keep their heads on straight because Stanford, Wazzu, and Washington have the ability to throw up a lot of points on this defense. This is especially true if Marquardt and James are too hurt to play. T.C. Ostrander has some BIG targets to throw to. Alex Brink and that offense exploits pass coverage breakdowns as well as anyone in the conference. Washington has found the next great double threat QB, assuming he doesn't end up in four or five pieces before ASU gets to see him.

There's no easy win for ASU so that ranking kind of looms as suspect. The athleticism edge disappeared when Colorado walked off the field.

Okay, let's assume Stanford, Wazzou. and W St. can throw up a lot of points on this defense (I dispute this unfounded assumption.) Which of those three will keep ASU from putting up huge numbers on them, in order to pull the upset? No easy win for ASU there? Only in your fondest dreams.

And that quote of yours I highlighted is so nonsensical, when applied to the three teams you mentioned, it exposes you as an ASU hater. Stanford as athletically talented as ASU? Really? Wow. I guess I'm a stinking homer for not buying into that one. And if Washington is sooo talented, why is their qb going to be chopped into four pieces?

Why not just come out of the closet? You don't just think ASU is lousy -- events might prove you right and me wrong -- you hope so, fervently.