Fox Sports’ Mandel: ASU one of the top 5 underachieving programs all-time

ASU’s football program has typically been described in one way — good, but not great.

Is this a disappointment? Fox Sports’ Stewart Mandel thinks so.

Mandel listed ASU fourth in his list of the top five underachieving programs of all-time Wednesday.

I’ve never understood why the Sun Devils can’t sustain success. First of all, you can get pretty much anyone into school there. It’s easy access to talent in Los Angeles. It’s a warm-weather school with beautiful, um, scenery. But the apathetic fan base doesn’t help.

The Sun Devils have made the Rose Bowl twice in school history, including a victory over Michigan in 1987.

They have also produced several NFL talents, including Darren Woodson and Terrell Suggs.

Now, of course, they aren’t the first on the list. That (dis)honor went to their Pac-12 rivals, the UCLA Bruins.

The disappointment may be turning around, however, as Mandel added that ASU is starting to live up to its potential.

Obviously a few of these — particularly Ole Miss and ASU — are already showing signs of a potential breakthrough, but that’s where things stand today.

ASU has had back-to-back 10-win seasons under coach Todd Graham, who has 28 wins since taking over in Dec. 2011. He also led them their first Pac-12 South title in 2013, earning conference Coach of the Year honors.

The Sun Devils are expected to begin the 2015 season ranked in the top 25 in the country in most polls.