Despite bye, Sun Devils making ground in AP poll
Oct 8, 2012, 2:42 AM | Updated: 6:05 pm
Todd Graham and the Arizona State Sun Devils sat idly this weekend, but college football poll voters didn’t seem to notice.
Off to a 4-1 start behind a balanced offensive attack led by quarterback Taylor Kelly and running back Cameron Marshall, ASU has navigated the early portion of their 2012 season with relative ease.
And because of it, the Sun Devils have slowly climbed up the rankings.
Although not one of the four Pac-12 squads — Oregon, Oregon State, USC and Stanford — to make it into this week’s AP Top 25, the Sun Devils received a season-high 39 votes. Only five teams outside the Top 25 received more.
ASU is coming off its first win at Cal since 1997 and faces a lesser foe in Colorado on the road this weekend. After their contest with the Buffaloes, the Sun Devils will have their best chance to crack the AP poll, when they host No. 2 Oregon for a nationally-televised showdown on Oct. 18.
Graham’s team is just out of the Coaches Poll, coming in at #26, and receiving 61 total points.
The Sun Devils reached as high as No. 18 in the poll last season, but finished 2011 winners of just one out of their last six games.
