ASU Football: Realistic Expectations A Must For Fans

ASU football is one win away from becoming bowl-eligible, but fans need to have realistic expectations on what this team can do for the remainder of the season.

Let’s get this out-of-the-way, ASU is not going to be representing the Pac-12 south in the Pac-12 championship game on December 2. While they started out the season looking promising, it has become clear that the poor secondary and the ever-changing quarterback situation has removed the Sun Devils from that conversation.

The Sun Devils should win one more game before the season is done to become a bowl eligible team and because of the large amount of bowl games they should be selected to participate in one. The expectations when it comes to which bowl game the Sun Devils will get selected to need to be realistic. Don’t expect ASU to be representing the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl, expect them to be in a similar bowl to last season.

After the Sun Devils become bowl-eligible, it is just a matter of how many wins after that mark which will determine which bowl they are selected to participate in.

If the Sun Devils end up winning the rest of their games, which would put them at 9-3 on the season, the Sun Devils could possibly be a Holiday or Alamo Bowl team. A bowl of this caliber would be a great success for the Sun Devils as they were expected to be one of the bottom teams in the Pac-12 this season.

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But keeping with realistic expectations, the theme of this article, the Sun Devils will not win out. They still have to face not only No. 4 Washington, but No. 17 Utah. Both of those games look as if they will be losses for the Sun Devils, so realistically the Sun Devils will look to go 2-2 over the final four games and finish the season 7-5.

Now at 7-5, the Sun Devils will be a middle-of-the-pack team in the Pac-12. they could finish as low as fourth in the Pac-12 south, and would be anywhere from the fifth to seventh best team in the Pac-12.

In that sort of situation the Sun Devils, realistically, would be looking at an invite into the Sun Bowl or Foster Farms Bowl. Both of these bowls would be a great landing spot for ASU as they would face formidable competition, but could still have a chance at pulling out the victory.

Next: ASU Football: Dillon Sterling-Cole, A Closer Look

While this article is a very sobering one, there is still a silver lining. The Sun Devils are still in line to make a bowl game. It may not be as glamorous as the Rose Bowl, but making a bowl game is still an accomplishment in itself. An accomplishment that will give players a reward for their hard work, and fans a reward for their loyalty.

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