ESPN: Arizona State Ranked in 'Playoff Surprises' Tier

Arizona State football is in a position that hardly anyone saw coming - even eight months ago.

The Sun Devils went from being perceived as a Big 12 bottom-feeder to a feel-good story to becoming the most dominant team in the conference in a matter of weeks during the 2024 season.

Kenny Dillingham's squad not only won the Big 12 in their debut season as members, but they also proved they belonged in the College Football Playoff, coming within a singular play of defeating Texas.

As a result, eyes are on the program like never before.

ESPN analyst David Hale ranked all 136 FBS programs in tiers - the Sun Devils slotted into the fourth tier - or 'last year's playoff surprises' - joining Indiana, Southern Methodist, and Boise State.

More on the tiering below:

"In 2023, Arizona State and Indiana each won three games, Boise State fired its coach after a 5-5 start, and SMU was in the American Athletic Conference and lost in a bowl game to Boston College. In 2024, they were all playoff teams."

"The initial 12-team playoff was truly remarkable in that it didn't simply reward 12 blue bloods. It coincided with an abrupt change in the sport that allowed complete afterthoughts in September to play meaningful football in December and January."

It is a curious decision to slot the Sun Devils in a tier with the other three playoff surprises from a year ago, as Arizona State appears to be better than those teams on paper heading into the year. It is also curious that they are definitely below mid-tier SEC teams such as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, and Tennessee - teams they are expected to be ranked ahead of coming into the new season