Eric Sorenson
It hasn’t always been pretty but Todd Graham has ASU bowl eligible in his first season in Tempe following the Sun Devils 46-7 route of horrid Washington State Saturday. The Devils have a chance to finish with a winning record in the Pac-12 if they beat in-state rival Arizona Friday in Tucson.
“Very significant,” Graham explained after the win. “I want our players to experience a bowl every year. The extra practices are just invaluable…for recruiting. You can’t build a program without it.”
The win snapped ASU’s ugly four-game losing streak and put themselves in position for a post-season birth, possibly the New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque on December 15th. More importantly a bowl bid would allow Graham and his staff time to work with some of the younger players who will assume bigger roles next season.
With a bowl bid crossed off the list of goals the focus now turns to rival Arizona who came back to beat ASU in Tempe after the Devils stole one in Tucson the year before.
“They’re an athletic team. They have a good quarterback in Matt Scott,” senior linebacker Brandon Magee said. “I don’t want to get into it, I just want to beat them.”
