ASU football continues to add tough non-conference opponents
According to ESPN's "Championship Drive Ratings," Arizona State last season played the toughest football schedule in the nation. Much of that had to do with the Pac-12's success, but ASU's aggressive non-conference scheduling (Wisconsin and Notre Dame) also played a significant part.
That approach isn't changing anytime soon.
Not long ago, an ASU official approached coach Todd Graham with a list of six possible non-conference opponents, not all of which were Top 25 programs. The coach and his administrative staff then discussed which matchup made the most sense.
The result: a home-and-home series with defending Big Ten champion Michigan State. Announced last month, the Sun Devils will host the Spartans on Sept. 8, 2018, and visit East Lansing, Mich., the following season.
Although you won't find two non-conference games on the level of Wisconsin and Notre Dame in the same season, this continues an impressive list of non-conference opponents for ASU. This year the Sun Devils open against lower-division Weber State and travel to New Mexico, two opponents that won't spark much national conversation. Notre Dame, however, comes to Sun Devil Stadium on Nov. 8, and folks generally pay attention to the Fighting Irish.
ASU's future non-conference opponents:
2015: Texas A&M (at Houston), Cal Poly and New Mexico.
2016: Northern Arizona, Texas Tech, at Texas-San-Antonio.
2017: New Mexico State, San Diego State, at Texas Tech.
2018: Texas-San Antonio, Michigan State, at San Diego State.
ASU's 2019-23 non-conference schedules aren't complete, but they already include the trip to Michigan State and home-and-home series with both BYU and LSU.
This goes along with ASU's longtime philosophy of scheduling one game against a Top 30 non-conference opponent, one against an opponent with regional ties and another against a lower-division school. Nearly every Pac-12 school has followed a similar model with the exception of Arizona, which doesn't have a non-conference game scheduled against a Power 5 conference school through 2020. (The Wildcats still could fill open slots with such teams. News also broke Thursday that the Wildcats have reached an agreement with Mississippi State for a home-and-home series starting in 2022.)
With the start of the four-team playoff, Graham admits it's a difficult balance. He believes playing Wisconsin and Notre Dame last season helped the Sun Devils win the Pac-12 South. He also believes fans want to see the Sun Devils play "big-time" non-conference opponents.
At the same time, he doesn't want to hurt ASU's championship chances.
"There's so much parity in our league,'' Graham said. "No one goes undefeated in our league, at least not in the last couple years. So if you lose a non-conference game to Michigan State and you lose one conference game to give you two losses … you win the conference and you're outside the playoff? I just can't imagine that."
Graham's hope: The playoff expands to eight teams, and the conference champion from all five power conferences receive automatic bids, which would eliminate some of the worry about tough non-conference scheduling.
In the meantime, ASU will continue as planned.
"I like to play the teams (in areas) where we recruit, so you'll see us playing in Texas,'' Graham said. "And then, obviously, in conference we're playing in California. But if we're not going to play in an area where we recruit, then you want to look at the great tradition the Big Ten has with the Pac-12, and I have tremendous respect for Michigan State and their program.
"That's going to be a big-time game for our players and our fans."
Satellite camps
ASU coaches will participate in three "satellite" camps in California next week. On Tuesday they will be guests at the Contra Costa College Football Skills Camp in San Pablo, Calif. On Thursday, the coaches will help out at a camp at Upland High and on Friday they will do so at Salesian High in Richmond.
NCAA rules prohibit programs from running high school camps more than 50 miles from campus, but it allows coaches to serve as guest coaches in camps outside of that area, something ASU has done the past two years. It ends up helping all parties — players get top-level coaching, and the Sun Devils get an up-close look at area talent, which helps in recruiting.
Only issue: The SEC doesn't allow its coaches to participate in satellite camps. Obviously, coaches in that conference weren't happy to learn that Penn State and Notre Dame soon would serve as guest coaches at camps in their backyards. Makes you wonder how much longer this rule will last.
Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic .com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DougHaller.
