Sun Devils place No. 15 in Week 14 College Football Playoff Rankings

(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)

A little over halfway into their drive back from Tucson last Saturday, head coach Kenny Dillingham looked up from the screen he was watching and announced something that was nearly certain but just needed one more piece to fall into place. As the clock hit zeroes on the Cincinnati-TCU game, Dillingham turned to the bus full of defensive players and told them they were headed to the Big 12 Championship.

Celebrations, of course, ensued as the Sun Devils did something that not only seemed impossible at the beginning of the season but also just over six weeks ago. A mid-October loss to Cincinnati dropped the Sun Devils to 5-2 and if they wanted any chance at postseason play they would have to be undefeated in its remaining games.

Fast-forward six weeks, ASU won its remaining five games, including two over AP Top 25 opponents, and stormed its way to the No. 15 spot and 12-seed in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings. The Sun Devils are one win away from a spot in the inaugural 12-team playoff.

“It’s just really special to see all the work pay off,” redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt said. “But I guess, you know, we really won’t understand what it is ’til we get to the moment and, you know, walk out onto that stage and see the crowd, everything like that. So I’m excited for our guys to have this opportunity.”

If ASU pulls through with the win over No. 16 Iowa State, then its spot in the CFP would be secured, but where that spot would be still remains up in the air. A large obstacle in the way of ASU’s path of securing a bye is 11-1 and No. 10 Boise State, who will play for the Mountain West Championship this weekend. The Broncos have a Heisman hopeful in running back Ashton Jeanty, and their only loss is by three points to No. 1 Oregon on the road in early September.

Safe to say Boise State’s resume is strong, but it still has a few cracks in it when comparing it to the Sun Devils’ resume. According to ESPN, Boise State’s strength of schedule is 86th in the country compared to 72nd for ASU. Additionally, the teams share one common opponent in Wyoming who the Broncos squeaked by with a 17-13 win just two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, ASU handled Wyoming 49-7. And, while the Sun Devils do have that extra loss to Cincinnati, it was a game without Leavitt, and they have won seven straight games with the Oregon native at the helm. Dillingham made the same argument during his appearance on The Jim Rome Show.

“We haven’t lost a game with our starting quarterback since our first conference game ever in the Big 12, and (Leavitt’s) first road start, three and a half months ago,” Dillingham said to Rome.

The time for campaigning is here, and others around the Big 12 feel disrespected that the Sun Devils are still ranked below a group of five teams in Boise State. Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire, who coincidentally is the last team to beat ASU with Leavitt under center, heavily criticized the committee for how it has treated Big 12 teams this season.

“It’s absolutely embarrassing what they’re doing to this conference,” McGuire said on Saturday. “If they look at it that way, if they sit there and say who’s playing the best football, who’s the most competitive conference, who week in and week out, what you see on tape and the games that you’ve got to play, I think the Big 12 should be in, the Big 12 champion should be in the Final Four.”

If ASU is able to find its way into the top four, it would not only get a bye and some extra rest, but it would also gain the advantage of not having to travel because the Sun Devils would likely be awarded a spot in the Fiesta Bowl for their quarterfinal round matchup.

ASU still has to get by an extremely tough opponent in the Cyclones before they can even think about College Football Playoff matchups, but regardless of a win or a loss, the Sun Devils have built a resume that no one thought they could build.

“We’re in a position to compete and win a championship,” Dillingham said. “Not many people can say that at this time of year. Only two teams in our league can say that they put themselves in a position to win a championship. That’s significant. It’s about all the challenges to get to this point that you’re one game away from accomplishing something that people said couldn’t be done.”