After receiving just 53 votes in the AP Top 25 preseason poll in 2013, the Sun Devils open up the season at No. 19, one of six ranked teams in the Pac-12 in the first poll of the new College Football Playoff era.
The Sun Devils finished 10-4 last season, winning the Pac-12 South division for the first time since the conference expanded from 10 teams at the start of the 2011 season. ASU was ranked as high as No. 11 after earning the right to host the defending conference champion, (then) No. 7 Stanford, which earned a trip to the Rose Bowl after defeating ASU 38-14 at Sun Devil Stadium on Dec. 7, 2013.
Oregon moved up six spots from last season's final rankings to the No. 3 spot behind Alabama and defending national champion Florida State. The Ducks were also picked in a preseason prediction by Pac-12 media members to win the conference for the second year in a row.
In the latest poll, 2012 South Division champion UCLA checks in at No. 7, the Cardinal are now slotted at No. 11, followed by USC at No. 15, and Washington at No. 25.
Prior to the start of the 2013 season, all aforementioned teams held a spot in the national rankings with the exception of ASU and Washington.
Oregon State, which began last year at No. 25, was the only other Pac-12 team listed in the AP report to have received votes.
Reach the assistant sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @StefanJModrich