Senior defensive back Jordan Simone leaps for a catch in warmups during the Sun Devils' Fan Fest on April 13. ASU coach Todd Graham was impressed with the defense during the spring game. (Photo by Dominic Valente.)
With the 2013 college football season rapidly approaching, it’s only appropriate to start previewing the year ahead.
For the next two weeks we will feature the preseason Pac-12 Game of the Week. This week, weeks one through seven will be previewed:
Week One: Boise State vs. Washington
There’s no matchup in week one that even comes close to the rematch of last year’s MAACO Bowl Las Vegas. The Broncos won 28-26 on a field goal in the last two minutes, so the Huskies have been waiting nine months for revenge on their rivals in the Northwest. Add the reopening of the renovated Husky Stadium, and this just screams big game, literally. The Broncos have only lost five games in the past five seasons, so a Husky victory would be a great first step in a season on high expectations.
Week Two: Oregon vs. Virginia
Normally this game wouldn’t be here, but with the lack of big game quality combined with new Ducks coach Mark Helfrich’s first road game, why not? The Ducks haven’t lost a true road non-conference game since September 2009, also the first year of former head coach Chip Kelly’s head coaching career. That 2009 game against Boise State is infamous because of Ducks running back LeGarrette Blount’s punch to a Broncos player after the game. There probably won’t be same kind of fireworks in Charlottesville, Va., but who knows.
Week Three: Wisconsin vs. ASU
Nebraska vs. UCLA is equally as important as the game in Tempe, except the Sun Devils have more to prove. The Wisconsin game is the first of a brutal stretch of four for ASU. A win over the Badgers would put the Sun Devils in a very good place heading to Palo Alto to face Pac-12 and Rose Bowl champion Stanford the following week. The last big non-conference home game for the Sun Devils was a win two years ago against Missouri, but the Badgers are a different pedigree. They have won three consecutive Big 10 titles but will still be transitioning to new coach Gary Anderson’s style.
Week Four: ASU vs. Stanford
This could very easily be the preview of the Pac-12 Championship Game. The two teams haven’t met since 2010, so there will be a lot of unfamiliarity in the first conference game of the year for both teams. What we do know is both defenses are highly regarded as top-three in the conference. After a week three matchup versus Wisconsin that will undoubtedly be smashmouth football, will the Sun Devils have it in them again to go nose-to-nose with one of the country’s best on the road? ASU coach Todd Graham says yes.
Week Five: USC vs. ASU
The tough stretch for the Sun Devils continues at home against the Trojans, whom they have only knocked off once since the turn of the century. That one win was the last time the teams played at Sun Devil Stadium in 2011, a three-touchdown drubbing that put the Sun Devils at 3-1. A win could potentially put the Sun Devils at 3-1 and in a good spot early in the season for the Pac-12 South title. This game is also critical for a mysterious Trojans team as well — a win over a contending division rival should re-establish USC as a favorite for the Pac-12 South.
Week Six: ASU vs. Notre Dame
The Sun Devils keep showing up on the list, but for good reason. They have one of the toughest four-game stretches in all of college football and it ends in Dallas against the Irish, who are fresh off their first national title game appearance since 1988. The neutral-site game at Cowboys Stadium will provide quite a spectacle after a busy offseason with the two schools fighting over the status of the 2014 game to be played in Tempe. Nobody knows where these two teams will be when they meet on Oct. 5, but expect the big game atmosphere to be in the air in Texas.
Week Seven: Oregon vs. Washington
These two teams don’t like each other, but the rivalry just hasn’t been there recently. The Ducks have won the last nine matchups, with none of them being closer than 17 points. This could be the year the Huskies finally knock off the Ducks, though. Washington has a seasoned offense led by senior quarterback Keith Price and sophomore running back Bishop Sankey, an atmosphere that might be comparable to that at Autzen with the renovation of Husky Stadium and the thought of revenge on their minds. Washington has beaten the conference's elite at home (Stanford, Oregon State in 2012) but Oregon is a different beast.
Weeks eight through 14 will be released on July 30.
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Danny__Shapiro
