(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
After a month of rest since playing Arizona in the final regular season game, Arizona State will at last play one final game on New Year’s Eve.
The Devils will conclude the 2019 season in El Paso, Texas where they will face the Florida State Seminoles (6-6, 4-4 ACC) in the 86th Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Tuesday. This will be the first time the Devils and Seminoles have squared off since 1984.
Lots of changes have occurred since ASU took down UArizona on November 30 that have impacted ASU in its preparation for Tuesday’s game. Head coach Herm Edwards and ASU have parted ways with offensive coordinator Rob Likens, receivers coach Charlie Fisher, and tight ends coach Donnie Yantis a day after beating the Wildcats.
Junior running back Eno Benjamin announced he would forego his senior season and the bowl game to declare and prepare for the NFL Draft. Senior wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk also announced he would skip the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft, leaving freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels (2,748 yds, 17 TD, 2 INT) without his two best offensive playmakers.
Amid head coaching rumors, defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales also accepted the head coaching job at his alma mater New Mexico.
Nevertheless, the Devils made internal moves for Tuesday as running backs coach Shaun Aguano and offensive line coach Dave Christensen will coach the offense and newly promoted defensive coordinator Tony White will call plays on defense.
Florida State will be without its best offensive playmaker in junior running back Cam Akers. The 5-11, 212 pounder rushed for 1,144 yards and 14 touchdowns this season but will skip the bowl game to prepare for the NFL Draft. The Seminoles will also be without one of its leading players in the secondary, junior defensive back Stanford Samuels III (37 solo tackles, two INT) as he also prepares for the draft. The Seminoles also just fired their head coach Willie Taggart after another mediocre and disappointing season.
The Devils defensive front will have to find ways to get pressure on Seminoles’ sophomore quarterback, James Blackman. The 6-5, 195 pounder threw for 2,095 yards, 16 touchdowns, and seven picks in 2019 and will have to throw the ball a lot due to the absence of Akers.
The Seminoles averaged 29.1 points per game on offense (8th in ACC) and gave up an average of 28.5 points per game on defense (7th in ACC) this season.
The Devils in 2019 averaged 25.2 points per game on offense (9th in Pac-12) and conceded an average of 23.1 points per game on defense (5th in Pac-12).
The Sun Devils will have its usual starting defensive unit on the field, but its going to be how well Daniels and the offense does that will ultimately make the difference. Redshirt freshman running back AJ Carter (15 att, 38 yds) will be receiving first-team snaps and redshirt junior receiver Frank Darby (28 rec, 597 yds, 8 TD) and senior receiver Kyle Williams (43 rec, 406 yds, 2 TD) become the two best receiving threats.
An ASU win would mark the Devils’ first bowl victory since the 2014 Sun Bowl over Duke.
The Devils will play at 12:00 p.m MST at Sun Bowl Stadium and the game will be televised on CBS.
