ASU's opener vs. Texas A&M should reveal much about the Sun Devils
HOUSTON – Amid all the preseason hype – the college football playoff predictions and Heisman Trophy speculation -- a word of caution before Arizona State clashes with Texas A&M in Saturday's AdvoCare Texas Kickoff.
"I like that those predictions are there,'' ASU coach Todd Graham said. "We took this game for a reason, to be on that stage because that's the only way you ever get there. When you play in games that everybody in the country is talking about, that's how you get elite status. We're not there. We haven't won a championship ... but we deserve to be in the discussion."
The ASU momentum is at an all-time high. Even the 1996 team, the one that started 11-0 and played for a national championship, started the season No. 20 in the AP Top 25. This season's group is ranked 15th, but expectations the past couple weeks have soared to a higher level.
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit – the sport's most popular television analyst – picked the Sun Devils to make this season's College Football Playoff. Fox Sports analyst – and former coach – Dave Wannstedt did the same. A national reporter from Sports Illustrated picked senior quarterback Mike Bercovici to win the Heisman Trophy.
ASU vs. Texas A&M scouting report and prediction
For the Sun Devils, this is a different kind of red zone.
Yes, it's a different era. Previous ASU teams might have produced similar hype, but without social media, it just didn't get the same push. Today, everything is tweeted and retweeted, discussed and analyzed, celebrated and ridiculed.
"To some extent, college football is being talked about year-round,'' said former ASU quarterback Jeff Van Raaphorst, a radio analyst for Sun Devil football. "There's just a general buzz about college football with websites and with recruiting services and with people doing fantasy leagues. People televising spring football games. Conference networks. All that stuff creates a buzz."
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Make no mistake, ASU is trending upward. The Sun Devils have posted back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time since the early 1970s. They are recruiting at a higher level and upgrading facilities, all of which have chipped away at their under-achieving reputation.
Saturday's opener at NRG Stadium simply offers a test to see where they ride on college football's escalator. Texas A&M is not ranked, but the Aggies have Top 25 offensive talent. They also have a new defensive coordinator in John Chavis, hired to revive a struggling defense that last season couldn't stop the run. Chavis spent six seasons at LSU, and his last five defenses all ranked among the nation's Top 15. His effect this season is not yet known, but it's reasonable to think Texas A&M will be better.
Even so, the Sun Devils' biggest hurdle might be themselves. Two years ago, they traveled to Texas and lost a winnable game to Notre Dame, a performance many chalked up to stage fright. Now, they have some of the sport's most respected voices in their corner, predicting a possible national-championship run. For any program, that's a significant jump.
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ASU's approach:
Block out the noise. Sophomore receiver Ellis Jefferson said he heard about Herbstreit's prediction, but only because friends and family informed him through phone calls and text messages. Senior safety Jordan Simone said the only words that matter are those voiced inside the ASU locker room.
"I just think we're confident, and we know what we have to do to win,'' he said. "At the end of the day, what really matters is the 11 guys that take the field on defense, the 11 on offense and the guys that play on special teams. It's our team, and nothing else."
In the end, Saturday's contest is just one game, the first of 12. It won't directly impact ASU's Pac-12 championship hopes and for that matter, if the Sun Devils lose, it probably won't dash their playoff chances.
ASU vs. Texas A&M in Houston: TV, radio information
"I think the lesson's been learned the last two years to not overreact too much to these early season games,'' CBS analyst Gary Danielson said. " … We just need to take our time a little bit. This thing lasts a long time, and we all tend to overreact to the beginning of the season. I know every game means something, but I still think it plays out in November much more than it does early in the season."
In that sense, Saturday might be a significant stepping-stone for Graham's Sun Devils. Or it could simply be a learning experience in handling expectations.
"Handling success is just as difficult – and sometimes more difficult -- than handling failure because you're not guaranteed anything,'' Graham said.
Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DougHaller.
PHOTOS: ASU vs. Texas A&M scouting report
