ARIZONA STATE FOOTBALL

Arizona State football ranked 16th in Athlon preseason poll

May 14, 2014, 5:00 PM | Updated: 5:31 pm

There are still more than 100 days until the Arizona State Sun Devils begin the 2014 football season against Weber State, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early for preseason prognostications, at least according to Athlon Sports.

The longtime college football annual is releasing its preseason Top 25 a few teams at a time, and the defending Pac-12 South champion Sun Devils came in at No. 16 on the list.

(Head coach Todd) Graham talks big — and so far has backed up his words. But given the massive remake of the defense, it’s hard to imagine the Sun Devils winning a second straight Pac-12 South title. ASU will attack offensively and score a lot of points, but it might also be on the wrong end of 45-42 games. ASU has to play at USC, Washington, Oregon State and arch-rival Arizona and also has a difficult non-conference game against Notre Dame in early November. A nine-win season would deserve applause.

The preview also says the Devils should have one of the top offenses in the Pac-12, led by senior quarterback Taylor Kelly, junior running back D.J. Foster and junior wideout Jaelen Strong.

This year’s Athlon Sports College Football Preview is scheduled to hit newsstands around Memorial Day.

Athlon Sports Preseason Top 25

25. Missouri Tigers
24. Washington Huskies
23. Florida Gators
22. Penn State Nittany Lions
21. Clemson Tigers
20. Kansas State Wildcats
19. LSU Tigers
18. Ole Miss Rebels
17. Texas Longhorns
16. Arizona State Sun Devils
15. Wisconsin Badgers
14. Released May 15
13. Released May 15
12. Released May 15
11. Released May 16
10. Released May 15
9. Released May 19
8. Released May 19
7. Released May 20
6. Released May 20
5. Released May 21
4. Released May 22
3. Released May 23
2. Released May 27
1. Released May 27

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Arizona State football ranked 16th in Athlon preseason poll