Texas A&M’s looming presence has commanded Sun Devils’ focus, according to Todd Graham

To say Arizona State head coach Todd Graham is fired up for the start of football season would be an understatement.

The man can barely contain himself.

Despite the fact that 29 days separate Graham and the Sun Devils from their season opener versus Texas A&M at NRG Stadium in Houston on Sept. 5, the coach, entering his fourth year at the helm of ASU’s football program, is like your kid sister after downing a grip of pixie sticks the night before Christmas; a tightly wound combination of anticipation and enthusiasm sweating more excitement than you can shake a stick at.

But perhaps that has something to do with the opponent.  The Aggies represent a class of opponent the Sun Devils seldom see so early on the regular season schedule.

“I love it,” Graham exclaimed following a recent practice.  “Here’s my deal, I think [Texas A&M] affected our summer a great deal.  When you’re kicking off with an SEC West opponent basically on the road — a neutral site, but maybe a little bit closer to them — I like it.  Having that game there, we’ve never had that, and that sense of urgency has really been a great help.  We’ve obviously got to be smart because you don’t want to schedule yourself and put yourself at a disadvantage, but I just think playing good people will help you.

“We’re on a steep hill.  It’s steep at the top. It’s hard to get steps forward.  And so to do that, man, it’s just daily fanatical improvement. We’ve talked about that in the past.  I think as a staff and as a program and the players are at a point now in their training where they’re mentally mature enough to do that.”

Not only has Graham’s charges exhibited a sense of urgency in the early going of fall camp, but the focus across the board — from the meeting room, to the weight room, to the practice field — has been on a level previously unseen from the 50-year-old headman since he arrived in Tempe.

“I like our team.  I walked out of the meeting this morning with coach ‘Cass’ (Tim Cassidy) and said, ‘Man, you ever seen a team look like that in a meeting?’  There’s not a single eye that goes off me the whole time.  People say, ‘What’s that got to do with winning and losing?’ It’s got everything to do with it because your eyes are the window into your heart and you display your attitude with your eyes.  That’s something this team has a whole bunch of — great character.

“It wouldn’t matter who we’re playing.  That’s challenge in playing 12, 13, 14, 15 games is bringing every week and it ain’t hard to get up for this one.”