Should Arizona State be ranked in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll?

Arizona State made its case for a top-25 finish on Friday evening.

In front of a national television audience, the Sun Devils defeated No. 16 Utah in their own game – Smashmouth Football. Excluding their four knee downs, Arizona State rushed for 205 yards on 33 carries in its impressive 27-19 win.

The last time Utah gave up over 200 yards on the ground? You have to go back more than two years, to September 3, 2022 against Florida.

When was the last time the Sun Devils were in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll? They have to go back to Week 7 of the 2021 season — almost exactly three years ago, when Kenny Dillingham was the offensive coordinator at Florida State.

Arizona State (5-1, 2-1) was picked to finish last in the Big 12 in the preseason media poll. Utah (4-2, 1-2) was picked first. In a conference with incredibly thin margins, that could still happen. But as it stands on Oct. 12, the Sun Devils have beaten two teams that were expected to finish atop the conference — Utah and Kansas — and they deserve a national ranking.

The Big 12 only had four teams ranked No. 11 in last week's poll – No. 11 Iowa State, No. 14 BYU, No. 16 Utah and No. 18 Kansas State. It's a safe bet that Utah is out of the poll this week, potentially leaving the Big 12 with just three ranked teams.

Arizona State's resume is good enough to warrant a ranking – anchored by a win over a team that entered the season ranked No. 12 in the country. If Colorado beats Kansas State on Saturday night, the Buffaloes would be 5-1 and also have a strong case for a top-25 finish.

The only other Big 12 team with one loss or less is Texas Tech (5-1), and the Red Raiders have a bye. They don't have a signature win either. They beat Arizona State 30-22 at home on Sept. 21, but have not beaten a ranked team. And their only loss was bad — 37-16 to Washington State in a game that was never close.

We'll see what voters decide on Sunday.

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