ASU to play N.C. State in school’s sixth Sun Bowl appearance
Dec 3, 2017, 1:53 PM | Updated: 5:15 pm
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Arizona State will appear in the Sun Bowl against the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Dec. 29, making it the sixth time the school has played in El Paso, Texas, for its postseason. The Sun Devils are 3-1-1 in those bowls.
The Sun Devils’ sixth bowl game in the last seven years is the most in any seven-year span of the program’s history.
This year’s edition of the Sun Bowl will close the book on ASU head coach Todd Graham’s tenure after he was fired following the team’s Territorial Cup victory.
The announcement of ASU’s bowl destination comes as the school reportedly prepares to name Herm Edwards as its next head coach.
Graham is 2-3 in bowl games. The last bowl appearance ASU made was in 2015 in the Cactus Bowl, when the Sun Devils faced off against West Virginia.
The Sun Devils ended up on the wrong side of the shootout with a 43-42 loss to the Mountaineers.
ASU came out victorious in its last Sun Bowl appearance in 2014, a 36-31 win over Duke.
It was also the first bowl game for then-freshmen running backs Kalen Ballage and Demario Richard. Ballage had a 96-yard kickoff return and Richard won MVP honors with four touchdowns, two coming through the air and two on the ground.
N.C. State enters the bowl game at 8-4 on the year with upset wins over top-20-ranked Florida State and Louisville on its resume.
The Sun Bowl will kick off on Friday, Dec. 29, at 12 p.m.
