Arizona State's CFP Hopes Hang in Balance

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"Arizona State thought when they scored with 1:38 remaining, their comeback was complete, but Mississippi State had other plans. The Bulldogs hit the Sun Devils with a 58-yard strike then an interception over the next minute and won 24-20.

The Sun Devils were 3-of-14 on third downs, averaged 3.6 yards per pass, and got called for eight penalties (49 yards). There were a lot of negatives for last year’s BIG 12 champs, but the worst may be that Mississippi State was expected to be one of their worst three teams in the SEC, so the Week 2 loss all but dooms their playoff hopes if the Bulldogs are a losing team."

The end of the road to repeat as conference champions isn't quite a reality, but the road to the top is more challenging compared to in 2024.

Arizona State begins conference play with a road battle against Heisman candidate Sawyer Robertson and Baylor's potent offense before returning to Tempe to battle a revamped TCU squad.

The team then travels to Salt Lake City to face the Utah Utes - who are built up in both trenches and now roster a positive at the quarterback position.

The team then continues the challenging stretch by facing Texas Tech at home and the 3-0 Iowa State Cyclones on the road.

Sam Leavitt, Jordyn Tyson, C.J. Fite, and the remainder of the Sun Devil roster still control their own destiny to return to the heights that they reached last season.

Read more on major takeaways from Arizona State's week two loss here, and on taking a dive into coach Dillingham's comments after the game here.