We've almost emerged from the depths of summer and college football is just around the corner. Arizona State is in the midst of preparations to defend their 2024 Big 12 title with Week 1 just over a month away.
We at Devils in Detail are here to keep you up to date on everything you need to know as we approach kickoff on Aug. 30 against Northern Arizona.
Arizona State's defense is poised to be amongst the elite in college football
After previewing the Sun Devils’ offensive line earlier in the week, let's take a look at the defensive line. Defensive coordinator Brian Ward isn’t known for blitzing a whole lot, instead he prefers to get pressure with his front four guys and that puts the onus on them to affect the quarterback.
Our very own David Howman and Andrew Hayslett took a deep dive look at guys like CJ Fite, Clayton Smith and more who could give Arizona State a major edge in their quest to repeat as Big 12 champions.
Could Cincinnati be a dark horse threat to ASU's Big 12 repeat?
The Cincinnati Bearcats were one of just two Big 12 foes to defeat ASU on the gridiron. Granted, quarterback Sam Leavitt missed that contest with an injury and Cincy finished the year just 5-7, so it was more of an unfortunate blemish than an indication of any serious threat.
But 2025-26 is a new season and our David Howman investigated how much damage the Bearcats could do in the conference this time around. ASU will not have to play Cincinnati this year due to the rotating conference opponent schedule.
Football countdown: Welcome newcomer Jesus Gomez
Our countdown to kickoff is at 34 days, meaning you can take a look back on little-known Sun Devil fullback Ryan Wood's career in Tempe.
Yesterday, we looked forward to the arrival of new kicker Jesus Gomez, who transferred to the program from Eastern Michigan this offseason. He'll bring a much-needed boost to head coach Kenny Dillingham's special teams unit which was the biggest weak spot in the team last year.
In fact, he put the nail in ASU's coffin back in 2022 in an embarrassing loss for the program that marked the end of the infamous Herm Edwards era. Now he'll look to be the team's savior in clutch moments this year.