3 snapshots of ASU football: From preseason doubt to mid-season hope

At the midpoint of Arizona State's football season, the Sun Devils remain in contention in the Pac-12 South, something that was difficult to fathom not long ago.  

Picked to finished fifth in the division, the Sun Devils started slowly. Fans called for coach Todd Graham's dismissal. ASU, however, changed the narrative after last Saturday's stunning win over then-No. 4 Washington.

What happens from here isn't easy to predict. A football season offers twists and turns; just look at the previous three months.

Here are three snapshots of the season's first half, showing how the Sun Devils have turned preseason doubt into mid-season hope.  

ASU PODCAST:Recapping the stunning win over Washington

Tuesday, Aug. 15

The Sun Devils have practiced for three weeks, from Tempe to Camp Tontozona, but the big question hasn’t changed: Coming off consecutive losing seasons, it’s still unclear how ASU will shape up on defense.

As the Sun Devils sprint onto the Kajikawa practice field, their shortcomings appear obvious. No one in their secondary has been a full-time starter at this level. Corners Joey Bryant (track team) and Kobe Williams (junior college) weren’t even in the program last season.

For this reason, defensive coordinator Phil Bennett -- himself in his first year in the program -- urged patience. The Sun Devils probably won't be dominant, he said, but they may not have to be. The key is how much they improve from one week to the next.

On the field, the Sun Devils broke into "team" drills. 

"I want the 3's (third team) on the other field!" Graham said. "I don't want anybody standing around."

On the main field, senior Demario Richard ran for five yards. Senior Kalen Ballage caught a short pass and ran untouched to the end zone. Second-team quarterback Blake Barnett hooked up with senior Jacom Brimhall for a big play.

As the viewing part of practice ended, a photographer approached a reporter:

“What do you think for this year –.500?" he said.

“That would be my guess.”

“Graham gone then?”

“Not sure. It depends how much they improve.”

MORE:The gambler? ASU's Todd Graham explains fourth-down decisions

Wednesday, Sept. 13

Four days earlier, the Sun Devils had suffered their first loss, 30-20 at home to San Diego State. The social-media reaction was so severe, the official ASU football Twitter account asked fans to direct insults its way instead of to the student-athletes.

At his weekly news conference, Graham outlined the loss: Special teams, once a team strength, killed them. And for the second straight week, their protection was poor. 

“We just got to keep grinding,’’ Graham said. “We just got to keep getting better. We’re working day and night. This program means an awful lot to me. We’re going to get it done.”

On the Kajikawa practice fields, Graham, holding a play sheet under his right arm, talked to consultant Danny White as the team stretched. Then the music started. Usually, the Sun Devils stretch to rap music. This day it was Foreigner’s “Juke Box Hero.”

Standing in the middle of the field, with a vocal portion of the fan base wishing for his dismissal, Graham played air guitar.

Aside from a Tontzona outburst – in which he called a school official onto the field to complain about the media’s reporting of injuries – Graham has been different this season. He believes in “straining” players to bring out their best. That hasn’t changed, but the straining hasn’t reached high volume like it has in the past. At least during the parts of practice open to media, he’s left that to his assistants.

"Let's go to work!" he shouted.

MORE:Ceejhay French-Love blossoming as ASU's new tight end

Tuesday, Oct. 17

The practice stretching music – "We Fly High" – had a message, although it might not have been the one rapper Jim Jones intended.

“We fly high, no lie, you know this

“Foreign rides, outside, it’s like showbiz

“We stay fly, no lie, you know this

“Hips and thighs, oh my, stay focused.”

Three days earlier, ASU had stunned the college football universe, upsetting No. 4 Washington 13-7 at Sun Devil Stadium. In perhaps their best defensive performance in six years, the Sun Devils improved to 3-3 and 2-1 in the Pac-12.

A season that many had written off, suddenly had intrigue.

And the man in charge was in demand.

On Sept. 19, after the Sun Devils had lost to Texas Tech, dropping them to 1-2, their worst start in 18 years, Graham called into the weekly Pac-12 teleconference as he does every Tuesday. He answered all of three questions during his segment, done in three minutes. (In comparison, Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez answered eight questions.)

After the Washington win, interview requests came in from all over the country, five in all, everyone wanting to know the same thing: How did the Sun Devils do it?

Graham on the Doug Gottlieb Show: “We’ve had two new coordinators. You don’t have a preseason in college football, so it took us a little bit to get going. We wind up knocking off Oregon, a Top 25 team, in Week 4 and then in the Stanford game, we turned the football over.”

Graham on ESPNU on Sirius Radio XM: “In 2013 and 14, we had the best defense in the league, but we’ve kind of fallen off and really have struggled giving up big plays. We have good personnel, especially in our front. … (Against Washington), we just had a great plan. Our guys were disciplined and it just all kind of came together.”

Nothing gets easier.

The Sun Devils haven’t won a conference road game in two years, a streak of nine losses. Nor have they had a lot of experience dealing with success lately. Both players and coaches were resolute, however. The Washington win wasn’t a fluke, they said.

That will be determined over the season’s second half, which starts Saturday in Utah, where the Sun Devils are 10 ½-point underdogs.  A potential obstacle: ASU might not have senior defensive end/rush linebacker Alani Latu, injured last week. Already the Sun Devils are without rush specialist Koron Crump, out for the season with a knee injury.

On a warm fall morning, the revived Sun Devils finished stretching and started ball-security drills. As they did so, their coach – once firmly strapped to the profession's hot seat – encouraged them with two words: “Championship preparation!”

MORE:Pac-12 won't fine ASU football for storming the field after upset

Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/DougHaller. Download and subscribe to the ASU Pick Six Podcast, available on iTunes.