Arizona State’s game against BYU is its biggest since …
Nov 20, 2024, 7:19 AM | Updated: 12:00 pm
Arizona State hosts BYU in Tempe this Saturday with pretty serious stakes on ASU’s end.
“How serious are they?!” you might ask.
Pretty dang high. Burns & Gambo’s Dave Burns sparked this question with this statement: It’s probably the most significant home game in a decade for the Sun Devils.
The Cougars (9-1) enter Saturday ranked No. 14. ASU (8-2) comes in at No. 21.
True, there is still a very important rivalry game after this week for ASU, and sweeping the next two games would pave a nearly clear path for the Sun Devils to make the Big 12 Championship Game in Kenny Dillingham’s second season on the job.
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Is there a number to attach to the significance of this game? A meter to judge how big of a game this is in a new conference? Can we compare it to anything in recent memory?
The quick summation: After scrolling through schedules dating back to 2000, there are subjectively six games between a ranked ASU club and a ranked opponent where the stakes were similarly high in terms of chasing a bowl or College Football Playoff spot in late October or beyond.
And there are only three that went down at Sun Devil Stadium, ergh, excuse me, Mountain America Stadium.
Which Arizona State football games since 2000 had as much on the line as BYU’s visit?
Oct. 19, 2019, AT No. 13 Utah — 21-3 loss
A 17th-ranked squad led by Jayden Daniels and Eno Benjamin began Herm Edwards’ second year at ASU with a 5-1 record. ASU had wins over No. 18 Michigan State and No. 15 Cal, plus a lone slip-up in the fourth game of the year against Colorado.
It set up a top-25 showdown in Salt Lake City, which went poorly and began a four-game skid.
How’d they finish?: ASU recovered with a huge home win against No. 6 Oregon, beat Arizona and then won against Florida State in the Sun Bowl.
Does it compare to this week’s BYU game?: No. The Utah game was a big one but ultimately deal-breaker in the middle of the season. And on the road.
Nov. 8, 2014, vs. No. 8 Notre Dame — 55-31 win
The 2014 Pac-12 schedule was absolutely loaded for the Sun Devils, who were ranked in the AP poll all but one week. Todd Graham’s squad lost a top-15 showdown against UCLA by an ugly 62-27 score in the fourth game of the year but rattled off wins over ranked USC, Stanford and Utah in a four-game streak heading into a home game against the No. 8 Fighting Irish.
Quarterback Taylor Kelly threw three touchdowns — one to Jaelen Strong — and backs D.J. Foster and Demario Richard helped the ground attack that saw No. 11 ASU lead 34-3 late in the first half.
Notre Dame rallied in the second half to pull within three points, but the Sun Devils piled on three touchdowns in the final 4:29 of the game to separate.
How’d they finish: More on that in a second.
Does it compare to this week’s BYU game?: It’s up there. No, it wasn’t a conference game and a little earlier in the season, but it had a massive recruiting impact for the Sun Devils at that point in time and moved ASU to 8-1.
Nov. 28, 2014, AT No. 12 Arizona — 42-35 loss
Here we are three weeks after the Notre Dame game! Arizona State responded to that big win by going to the very cold Corvallis, Oregon, and losing to Oregon State.
The 35-27 loss and very obvious trap game killed ASU’s shot to make the four-team College Football Playoff and is arguably the most painful Sun Devil loss this century. The Sun Devils recovered at home against Washington State the next week and entered a Duel in the Desert ranked 13th to the Wildcats’ 12th.
There was still tons to play for. Both teams were 9-2. Either needed a win, plus a UCLA loss to Stanford, for a Pac-12 South Division title to land in the Grand Canyon State.
ASU dabbled with two quarterbacks, with Kelly and Mike Bercovici putting together near-identical stat lines. The back-and-forth with the Wildcats can best be visualized like so:
ASU lost. And so did Stanford that day, sending the rival Wildcats to the Pac-12 title game to face Oregon (it did not end well for them, for what it’s worth).
How’d they finish: The Sun Devils’ loss took them from a potential Pac-12 title game appearance to a Sun Bowl berth, where they beat Duke 36-31 to close the season. Quite the sobering result.
Does it compare to this week’s BYU game?: That game tops this week’s BYU-ASU game considering the stakes. And was it the most consequential game in Territorial Cup history?
But it wasn’t in Tempe, so in terms of home games, we’re still looking.
Dec. 7, 2013, vs. No. 7 Stanford — 38-14 loss
We’re still in the Graham era. Arizona State dropped a game at No. 5 Stanford to open conference play and fell against Notre Dame in Dallas to tamp down expectations earlier in the year.
But a seven-game winning streak behind a talented group of skill players in Strong, Foster and Marion Grice ended with a 58-21 win against Arizona to thrust the Sun Devils into the Pac-12 Championship Game, which Tempe hosted at then-Sun Devil Stadium.
The bad news: Now-No. 7 Stanford had beaten current-No. 11 ASU 42-28 in late September, and running back Tyler Gaffney was still that dude. He rushed for a 69-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage and two more as Stanford scored touchdowns on its first four drives. That was that.
How’d they finish: The Sun Devils settled for a Holiday Day Bowl game, where they lost to Texas Tech, 37-23.
Does it compare to this week’s BYU game?: There was a lot on the line! It was at home! The hype was lost pretty quickly after kickoff, though. You could argue this BYU game has CFP possibilities on the table where it wasn’t in 2013’s conference title game. Thanks, playoff expansion!
Nov. 22, 2007, vs. No. 11 USC — 44-24 loss
Led by Dennis Erickson in his first year on the job, No. 7 ASU entered the game at 9-1 with a loss at then-No. 4 Oregon the only blemish on the schedule.
The Sun Devils behind quarterback Rudy Carpenter hung tough and were tied 17-17 midway through the second quarter before the Trojans pulled away with a 17-point third quarter behind John David Booty’s 375 yards and four passing touchdowns for the game.
How’d they finish: Arizona State snuck by Arizona 20-17 to reach 10 wins and the Holiday Bowl, where the Sun Devils lost to No. 17 Texas, 52-34.
Does it compare to this week’s BYU game?: Kind of the same situation as in 2024, no? In 2007, USC’s win with two games left led to a Rose Bowl appearance after the Trojans beat rival UCLA the next week. ASU is in a similar spot now. But again, expanded CFP possibilities remain.
Nov. 2, 2002, AT No. 8 Washington State — 44-22 loss
We’ve made it to the Dirk Koetter era.
A three-game winning streak put ASU (7-2) at No. 16 in the nation against an 8-1 team. And surprise! The fight for first place in the Pac-10 in 40-degree weather went decidedly in the home team’s favor, with the Cougars taking a 27-6 lead at halftime and ASU only tacking on two fourth-quarter touchdowns to make it look more competitive.
Quarterback Andrew Walter threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns with two picks.
How’d they finish: It was a promising season at this point, but the loss in Pullman was the beginning of the end. ASU lost four of its last five, with a lone win at Arizona making it a little less ugly. The Sun Devils still made the Holiday Bowl but lost, 34-27, to a pretty good Kansas State team.
Does it compare to this week’s BYU game?: Almost! Like this season, ASU didn’t find itself ranked until later in the season (Oct. 26 in 2002), and it took a tumble after entering a game in November.
