Arizona State entered Week 13 ranked No. 25 by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee and took care of business on Saturday, downing Colorado 42-17 on the road.
Somehow the Associated Press voters didn't find that performance impressive enough to put the Sun Devils into the Top 25 and at least match what the CFP rankings subjected.
Oregon is back in the top five and Miami leads pack of five ranked ACC teams in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday.https://t.co/7dTTUiT9QR pic.twitter.com/Xctp32tQq2
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 23, 2025
ASU (8-3) earned 77 votes in the Week 14 AP poll which is good for an unofficial 26th place behind the ACC's SMU, which received 121 votes after beating Louisville 38-6, and Pittsburgh, which upset Georgia Tech 42-28.
Despite the snub, fans should expect the Sun Devils to make a slight jump in the CFP rankings come Tuesday night.
Arizona State's AP Top 25 exclusion likely factors in long shot Big 12 Championship path
While the CFP committee appreciates the fact that ASU has continued to climb in the Big 12 standings despite losing star quarterback Sam Leavitt for the season and missing top wideout Jordyn Tyson for three contests prior to Saturday, the AP voters may just be focusing on the fact that the team needs a lot of help to return to the conference championship game.
The simplest scenarios involve ASU beating Arizona in Week 14 but then needing some sort of combination involving BYU, Texas Tech and/or Utah losing. There are some convoluted tiebreakers involved but there's still an outside shot ASU can finish second in the Big 12 and have an opportunity to defend its 2024 title.
AP voters clearly don't see that as a realistic possibility and most have decided not to reward ASU for hanging around until the very end. Even if the Devils aren't going to Dallas, it seems inevitable that fans should begin looking at tickets to El Paso for the Sun Bowl or San Diego for the Holiday Bowl.