The Arizona State Sun Devils have had one of the best 12-month stretches of any program in the power four – and they could continue to reap benefits of a rapid ascent into relevance.
The dream 2024 season included a trip to the Big 12 championship game, a berth in the College Football Playoff, and being one play away from advancing to the semifinals of the tournament.
Now, Kenny Dillingham goes into year three of his tenure with real momentum behind him – and he could find aid in an unlikely source.
EA Sports is set to release ‘College Football 26’ in July – the second release of an iconic series that was paused following the 2013 college football season, and the gaming giant is set to compensate schools based off of how much they are utilized in gameplay.
This could serve the Sun Devil program extremely well, as they are rapidly rising up the ranks of popularity within Arizona and the country as a whole – many even believe that Arizona State’s potential to be a national powerhouse in the future is an attainable ambition.
Josh Pate of CBS Sports previously named the Arizona State program as ‘America’s Team’ – at least as far as in the college football world.
Pate’s justification was very sound and positioned Kenny Dillingham’s program as one that will remain likable as the years pass.
“Number one, it’s not an SEC or Big Ten team. Not only is it not a power two program, it’s not Clemson or Notre Dame, or like Miami, but the program was left for dead.”
“I want to remind people that it’s not all that long ago that Herm Edwards was the head coach there and the program was going nowhere fast and then you’ve got the sanctions and you’ve got the firings and the program just spiraled into the desert and if you looked at it at the time you would have thought it’s going to be a decade before we ever hear anything about Arizona State football again.”
While the Sun Devil program is now under strong leadership that will breed a bright future, the 2025 team ultimately must back up what was shown on the field in the previous season.
Read more about how revenue sharing could impact Sun Devil football here, and how several key figures in the program helped turn the culture around in such a brief period here.
Please let us know your thoughts on how this decision could impact the football program when you like our Facebook page when you click right here.
