For The Win: ASU a darkhorse to make 2016 College Football Playoff
Aug 21, 2015, 10:01 AM | Updated: 10:02 am
The Pac-12 — the South Division more specifically — projects to be wild. Whomever comes out of it could have a shot at making the College Football Playoff.
Why not Arizona State?
For The Win’s Laken Litman picked the Sun Devils as one of four darkhorse candidates to make the 2016 College Football Playoff. What do their chances depend upon?
Arizona State is a favorite in the Pac 12, but its performance hinges on former backup-turned-starting quarterback Mike Bercovici, who likes to throw downfield. He’ll have options in the passing game, including D.J. Foster and UCLA graduate transfer Devin Lucien, but ASU is replacing both starting offensive tackles.
Litman isn’t the first to consider this a possibility. FOX Sports’ Petro Papadakis picked the Sun Devils to make his four playoff teams at the tail end of last season.
With back-to-back 10-win seasons, ASU was closer than outsiders might’ve thought to being in the national title race last season. A win in the final regular season game against Arizona would’ve given them a shot to beat Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship. A win there very well could have earned a berth in the four-team playoff.
That’s a lot of ifs looking back.
As Litman points out, there won’t be as much waiting to know if the Sun Devils are contenders. Arizona State begins the season against fellow Litman-labeled darkhorse Texas A&M and, after facing Cal Poly and New Mexico, opens the Pac-12 slate against USC (the media’s pick to win the conference) and UCLA.
