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Arizona State Sun Devils football
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Arizona State Sun Devils football
2017 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
Fight song
"Maroon & Gold"
Mascot
Sparky
Marching band
Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band
Website
TheSunDevils.com
The Arizona State Sun Devils football team represents Arizona State University in the sport of American football. The Sun Devils team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12). Arizona State University has fielded a football team since 1897 and has an all-time record of 600-382-24 (a .608 winning percentage). The Sun Devils are currently led by head coach Todd Graham and play their home games at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils have won seventeen conference titles, including three Pac-12 titles.[2]
A number of successful and professional football players once played for ASU. The school has 3 unanimous All-Americans and 16 consensus selections.[3] Among the most lauded players the school has produced are Pat Tillman, Terrell Suggs, Mike Haynes, Darren Woodson, Charley Taylor, and John Henry Johnson.
In addition to its players, ASU's football program has had several notable head coaches, including Hall of Famers Dan Devine and John Cooper and national champion Dennis Erickson. The all-time school wins leader is Hall of Fame coach Frank Kush, for whom Frank Kush Field at Sun Devil Stadium is named. Kush also consistently led the Sun Devils to victory against the Arizona Wildcats, ASU's traditional rival, losing to the Wildcats only twice between 1963 and 1979.[4][better source needed]
Coach Devine
On February 5, 1955, Michigan State assistant coach Dan Devine accepted the head coaching position at Arizona State.[14] Joining him as an assistant was Frank Kush, who would have even greater success at the school after Devine's departure. During his three years, Devine compiled a record of 27–3–1 (.887), including a spotless 10–0 mark during his final campaign.[15] In that last season, Devine's team led the nation in total offense and scoring, averaging just under 40 points per game in the latter category.[14]
Devine's success at Arizona State resulted in an offer from Missouri, which he accepted on December 18, 1957.[16]
Frank Kush era (1958–1979)[edit]
Frank Kush was promoted to the position of head coach at Arizona State, which he would hold for the next 22 years.
During his time at Arizona State, Kush was known for being one of the most physically demanding coaches in the game. His daily football practices in the heat of the Arizona desert are still the stuff of legend today. One of his drills was known as "Bull in the Ring", whereupon he would have the players form a circle. He would put a player in the middle (most often, a player he felt needed "motivation"), call out a uniform number, and blow his whistle. That player would charge the player in the middle and the two would engage in contact until Kush blew the whistle again. Whichever of the two players gave the best effort would go back to the circle, while the player "dogging it" would stay in until Kush decided he could quit. Former NFL and Arizona State player Curley Culp once broke a teammate's facemask during this drill.
Another of his drills (which was designed to see if his running backs could take punishment carrying the ball) consisted of having only a center, quarterback, and two running backs line up on offense, with no other offensive lineman, and run running plays against the entire defense. Kush would run a running back into the line time and time again so he could get used to the pounding he would take in games.
Coach Cooper
Bruce Snyder left California to become ASU's head coach in 1992.[29]
Snyder's 58 wins and nine-year tenure as head coach at Arizona State each rank second in school history to marks set by Frank Kush. Snyder led ASU to four bowl games including a win in the 1997 Sun Bowl.[29] More than 40 ASU players coached by Snyder were selected in the National Football League Draft, including seven in the first round, and more than 40 others signed free agent contracts in the National Football League.
In 1996, Snyder led the Sun Devils to one of the finest seasons in school history and was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year.[29] The 1996 squad finished with a 11–1 record and captured the Pac-12 championship. The Sun Devils stunned the top-ranked and two-time defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers in the season's second game. Arizona State reeled off the third undefeated regular season in school history en route 1997 Rose Bowl, where they came within 19 seconds of a victory over Ohio State. Had they won, the Sun Devils would have likely won at least a share of the national championship, as they would have been the only undefeated major-conference team in the nation. For his efforts that season, Snyder won a number of national coaching awards, including the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award.[29]
Snyder stepped down as ASU head coach following the 2000 season.[29]
Dirk Koetter era (2001–2006)[edit]
Boise State head coach Dirk Koetter was hired to replace Snyder in 2001.[30] At Arizona State, Koetter compiled a 40–34 record and four Bowl appearances in six years.[31] Under Koetter, who was also the offensive play caller, the Sun Devils became known for a vertical passing attack. On November 26, 2006, Koetter was terminated as the head football coach.[32] His final game was the 2006 Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve, a 41–24 loss.
Dennis Erickson era (2007–2011)[edit]
Coach Erickson
Seasoned coaching veteran Dennis Erickson left Idaho for the opportunity to lead his fourth BCS program. Athletic director Lisa Love hired him on December 9 to replace the recently fired Dirk Koetter. Arizona State was Erickson's third head coaching stint in the Pac-10, after Washington State and Oregon State. In addition to Idaho, Erickson also had college head coaching tenures at Wyoming and Miami, as well as in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.
Arizona State paid $2.8 million to Koetter and a $150,000 buyout to Idaho to complete the hiring of Erickson to a five-year contract. He immediately paid dividends for ASU, leading the Sun Devils to a 10–2 regular season record in 2007, a share of the Pac-10 title, and a berth in the Holiday Bowl. Erickson was named the 2007 Pac-10 Coach of the Year, becoming the first to ever win the award at three different Pac-10 schools. He also coached another major award winner; placekicker Thomas Weber was named the Lou Groza Award winner. Erickson worked for the relatively low salary of $500,000 from ASU in his first season, with another $2 million paid by the 49ers for the last year of his NFL contract. The remaining four years of the original ASU contract paid $1.275 million per year.[33] In 2008 the Arizona Board of Regents had approved a contract extension to keep Erickson at Arizona State through June 2012.[34]
Erickson's early success at ASU was not sustained, as the Sun Devils failed to have another winning season and lost three of four Territorial Cup rivalry games against Arizona. In his final four seasons, Erickson was 21–28 overall and 14–22 in conference. After opening the 2011 season with a promising 6–2 record, Arizona State suffered four straight Pac-12 defeats in November to end the regular season, and Erickson was fired on November 28.[35] He was allowed to coach in their bowl game on December 22, but ASU was soundly beaten 56–24 by Boise State in the Maaco Bowl in Las Vegas for their fifth consecutive loss.
Todd Graham era (2012–present)[edit]
Coach Graham
Todd Graham was announced as Arizona State University's head coach on December 14, 2011.[36] Graham came to ASU after only one season at Pittsburgh, informing his players and assistant coaches of his decision to leave Pitt for ASU via text message.[37] Graham also previously served as head coach at Rice for one season and Tulsa for four seasons.
In his first season at Arizona State, the Sun Devils went 8–5 securing their first winning season since 2007. With a win in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against the Navy Midshipmen, the 2012 Sun Devils won the final three games of the season for the first time since 1978.[38] ESPN's Pac-12 Blog writer Ted Miller called Todd Graham's first season at Arizona State an "unquestioned success."[39] In 2013, Graham continued to build positive momentum and led ASU the Pac-12 South title after defeating UCLA and rival Arizona. ASU finished the season 10-4 and ranked #21 in the AP Poll and #20 in the Coach's Poll.[40] For his efforts in leading ASU to a Pac-12 South championship, Graham received the 2013 Pac-12 Coach of the Year Award. In 2014, ASU finished with yet another 10 win season by going 10–3 and ranking #12 in the final AP Poll and #14 in the final Coach's Poll. The season was capped off with Graham leading the Sun Devils to victory over Duke University in the Sun Bowl.[41]
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