Getting a big 24-14 win over then-No. 16 Kansas State on Saturday, ASU (8-2, 5-2 Big 12) officially made its first appearance on the College Football Playoff rankings since 2014.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Arizona State landed at No. 21 late Tuesday night, exactly matching the Associated Press’ top 25 placement of the Sun Devils that was revealed on Sunday. From the Big 12 Conference, the CFP committee has ASU, BYU (No. 14), Colorado (No. 16) and Iowa State (No. 22) all on the list.
Check out the full College Football Playoff selection committee rankings for games played through Saturday, November 16.
It's going to be an exciting couple of weeks as we near closer to Selection Day!#CFBPlayoff ???????? pic.twitter.com/1o7oFYXMYG
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 20, 2024
ASU reached No. 6 on the CFP rankings before selection day where it was No. 15 in 2014.
The Sun Devils were on the brink of a ranking a little over a month ago after they defeated Utah 27-19 on Oct. 11 when the Utes were No. 16/17 at the time. The Sun Devils gathered 39 votes but just missed out.
With victories over Kansas State and Utah, it also marked the first time Arizona State has beaten multiple ranked teams in a season since 2019.
While only the top 12 teams make the expanded College Football Playoff, Arizona State does have the opportunity to leapfrog over multiple teams ahead of it since the all-important game against BYU is nearing.
An ASU win would provide a jump up on the leaderboard and lessen BYU’s chance of making the Big 12 title game with the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the Sun Devils lose, however, there would be a minuscule chance that they would remain ranked, have a shot at the conference championship and clinch a spot in the CFP.
Once Arizona State does get past this weekend’s pivotal matchup, the Sun Devils will then travel down south to face arch-enemy Arizona (4-6, 2-5) in the Territorial Cup clash on Nov. 30, concluding conference play. The start time has yet to be announced for the Territorial Cup.
No matter where the Sun Devils end up finishing, they have defied the expectations of people outside of the program and put together a quick turnaround from a year ago. In ASU head coach Kenny Dillingham’s tenure, he has drastically changed a 3-9 program last season to where it is now, securing a bowl game and maybe playing for even more.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake ‘can’t be anything but impressed’ with ASU’s rise ahead of matchup
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers the Phoenix Mercury, Suns and ASU Athletics for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
