The Sun Devils.... suck

At the beginning of this year, Arizona State was right outside of the Top 10 in the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.

After a close road loss to Mississippi State, however, the Sun Devils were bounced out of the Top 25 altogether.

Arizona State strung together three straight wins after that, which included victories over Baylor and TCU to kick off Big 12 play.

The Sun Devils rushed back into the rankings at No. 25 in the AP Poll, but they exited again after a 42-10 road loss to Utah.

What happened to the Sun Devils? Why have they fallen short of their expectations so far? What’s left for them to salvage this year?

The Sun Devils were at the top of the mountain in 2024

Arizona State made the Big 12 Championship following a 10-2 campaign, even with two losses in the conference.

The Sun Devils picked up ranked wins over No. 16 Utah, No. 16 Kansas State, and No. 14 BYU in the regular season, and they did not fall to any ranked opponents.

Arizona State breezed past No. 16 Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 Championship, earning a No. 4 national seed in the College Football Playoff.

The Sun Devils’ historic season came to an end in the CFP quarterfinals against No. 5 Texas in a 39-31 loss in double overtime.

Fans argued about a targeting no-call during the loss, as it was one of many deciding factors that ended Arizona State’s title run.

Replacing Skattebo is hard to do

A pivotal piece during the Sun Devils’ 2024 season was running back Cam Skattebo, who left to get drafted by the Giants in the fourth round.

Skattebo had 1,711 rushing yards – which led all Power 4 running backs – on 293 carries for 21 touchdowns in 2024.

Raleek Brown quickly stepped up as the top ball-carrier in 2025 after having limited action last year, and so far he has only rushed for two touchdowns but is third in the Big 12 in rushing yards with 573.

Army transfer Kanye Udoh had high potential going into the season, but his numbers have been limited as he has backed up Brown.

Injuries, injuries, injuries

Starting quarterback Sam Leavitt suffered an ankle injury ahead of Saturday’s game against Utah

Backup Jeff Sims had to then make a lot of moves on offense, but the Utes' defense was on top of it as they kept him out of the endzone.

Two season-ending injuries were announced on Monday for the Sun Devils in the form of offensive lineman Ben Coleman and linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu.

Fiaseu had hype coming into the season as a transfer from San Diego State, but he’ll have to sit out the rest of the year.

What’s next for the Sun Devils?

Arizona State’s road does not get any easier as they host No. 7 Texas Tech ahead of contests against five-win teams in Houston and Iowa State.

A win over the Red Raiders could be a signature one in the eyes of the CFP committee, but with a 32-point loss, their chances are slim.

The Sun Devils are projected to go to the Holiday Bowl to face Notre Dame, per Mark Schlabach. Kyle Bonagura has Arizona State facing Florida State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.

Not all hope is lost, but the road is still rocky for the Sun Devils.

Bryan Portney is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email bep5295@psu.edu.