The ASU football team poses for photos with the Sun Bowl trophy, Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014 at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso. The Sun Devils defeated the Blue Devils 36-31. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)In the final AP poll, ASU finished 12th, its highest final AP ranking since 1996, when the Sun Devils were fourth after losing in the Rose Bowl.
In the AP poll before bowls, ASU was 15th, but leapfrogged Ole Miss, Kansas State, and Arizona, all of which lost in bowl games, while ASU defeated Duke in the Sun Bowl.
ASU ended up going 2-2 against the Top 25, but the Sun Devils also had wins against the two schools with the most receiving votes.
ASU's best finishes in the poll: 2 - 1975 4 - 1986, 1996 6 - 1970, 1982 8 - 1971 9 - 1973 12 - 1957, 2014
Full poll:
1. Ohio State (59/59 first-place votes) 2. Oregon 3. TCU 4. Alabama T-5. Florida State T-5. Michigan State 7. Baylor 8. Georgia Tech 9. Georgia 10. UCLA 11. Mississippi State 12. ASU 13. Wisconsin 14. Missouri 15. Clemson 16. Boise State 17. Ole Miss 18. Kansas State 19. Arizona 20. USC 21. Utah 22. Auburn 23. Marshall 24. Louisville 25. Memphis
Other receiving votes: Notre Dame 28, Stanford 27, Nebraska 22, Air Force 21, Duke 18, LSU 12, Utah State 11, Arkansas 10, Minnesota 9, Oklahoma 7, Texas A&M; 7, Northern Illinois 4, Colorado State 2.
Reach the reporter at jmjanss1@asu.edu or follow @jjanssen11 on Twitter
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