Arizona State Football: Is It Too Early to Pencil ASU into Pac-12 Title Game?

The Sun Devils are four games into the 2011 season, and find themselves ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll.

After huge victories at home over Missouri and USC, the only blemish on ASU’s schedule is a 17-14 loss on the road against Illinois.

Fans down in the desert have to be excited about the Sun Devils’ chance to make it into the Pac-12’s inaugural conference championship game, but is it too early to call them a shoo-in? 

Proven Winners in Key Games

Besides the Oregon Ducks in the middle of October, the Sun Devils have already passed the most difficult part of the schedule.

As mentioned in the previous slide, ASU has key wins against two Top 25 teams in the Missouri Tigers and USC Trojans.

Arizona State is perfect in the Pac-12 at 1-0, and are tied with the UCLA Bruins for first place in the South division.

The Sun Devils should easily take care of the Beavers this weekend, taking them to 2-0 in the conference, while the Bruins have to go on the road to play the Stanford Cardinal.

Expect the Sun Devils to be the sole owners of first place after this weekend.

Veteran Players Across the Board

I’ve been a big believer in the Sun Devils for a long time; I even went as far as to predict a Top 10 finish. Injury free, I see this team having that much potential. Arizona State has so many key veterans on this team that I’ll only cover some of the big names.

Brock Osweiler:

Starting quarterback who has been an absolute terror for opposing secondaries. Osweiler has completed 93-of-135 passes for 1,094 yards, with eight TDs to three interceptions.

Aaron Pflugrad:

Pflugrad is probably the most underrated receiver in the Pac-12 conference. Pflugrad leads the team in receiving yardage with 344 yards on 22 receptions for four TDs.

Vontaze Burfict:

Burfict is the starting middle linebacker for the Sun Devils, and is the clear emotional leader of the defense. Burfict is one of the top defenders in the entire conference, maybe even the entire country.

You get my point that this team has skill across the board. I didn’t even include Cameron Marshall (RB), Garth Gerhart (OL), Jamaar Jarrett (DE) and Eddie Elder (S).

At Utah: Sat, Oct 8th

This will be the game that more than likely decides the winner of the Pac-12 South.

Because USC is unable to play in postseason action, if they were to win the conference, the next team in line would take their place.

Utah has already lost to the Trojans, but they can still win the division if they run the table including the game against the Sun Devils.

The game will be played at the Utes’ home field, making the game more interesting.

Arizona State might need this win, and the game shouldn’t go overlooked.