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PremiumThis is the Derelictable College Football Top 25. This is exactly how the Top 25 will look at the end of the season. We swear. Today's entry: No. 22 Arizona State.
Look at this fucking guy. Vontaze Burfict is an on-field reason to watch Arizona State football games. This is a big change from previous years, when the only reason to watch was for candid shots of drunk co-eds in the crowd.
Burfict not only has an incredible nose for the ball, but he also has zero regard for human life. He's 6-3, 255 and runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash. This is a remarkably entertaining combination. And as good as Burfict is, he somehow manages to overshadow his teammates, who help to make up possibly the best linebacking core in the country. Remarkably, they all went to the same high school. Brandon Magee and Shelly Lyons are also products of Centennial High in Corona, Calif., with Magee and Lyons graduating the year before Burfict.
Take a look at the Class of 2009 from Centennial. Un-fucking-real. Think of your high school football team. Think of the best team you played. Now think of that team getting anally raped by Burfict and Taylor Martinez.
But anyway, that linebacking core is at the heart of what should be a game-changing defense. The numbers weren't overwhelming in a positive way last year, as the Sun Devils were 55th nationally in scoring defense (25 ppg) and 57th in total defense (364.9 ypg). It was the nation's 16th best rushing defense, however.
The offense was top 30 nationally in scoring and yardage, but a -6 turnover margin helped lead to a 6-6 record and no bowl game. That might not get much better, at least on the offensive end as the Sun Devils will be playing with a new starter in Brock Osweiler as Steven Threet -- yes, that Steven Threet -- retired from football because he's had too many concussions. I blame Burfict, who is known to cause concussions with a well-placed stare. Osweiler will benefit from an experienced offensive line and veteran running back (Cameron Marshall).
Why they could be lower: Osweiler. It's really that simple. If teams are allowed to stack the box and shut down that experienced run game and Osweiler can't make them pay for it, the defense is going to be on the field a lot and put in situations that not even Burfict can get them out of. The receivers are talented seniors, but neither have starting experience. That could make Osweiler's job a little bit more difficult.
There's also the relative inexperience on the defensive line, where just one of four starters returns. It's their job to free up those talented linebackers to make plays. The positive with them is that they're mostly upper classmen (three seniors to go along with a sophomore), and they're several years into a college weight training program.
Why they could be higher: Like USC, Arizona State gets the benefit of playing in the weak Pac-12 South. It also gets USC and Arizona, the division's other top teams, at home. But I'll get more into that in the schedule section. If Arizona State is a Top 25, or even Top 20 team, it will be because of the defense. When you have dominant, versatile linebackers, you have some serious flexibility in what you can do defensively. Plus, there's the experience in the run game. We've seen a lot of teams do much better than No. 22 with a great defense and a productive run game.
Schedule: After opening with UC Davis, the Sun Devils hit the make-or-break portion of their season. They host Missouri, travel to Illinois, host USC and Oregon State and travel to Utah and Oregon. There's a chance they could lose all of those games, and be sitting at 1-6 before their bye week. If that's the case, Dennis Erickson will be gone and the team will likely miss out on the postseason again. I think there's a decent chance they could navigate that stretch with just one or two losses -- Missouri is also breaking in a new quarterback, Illinois is coached by Ron Zook, USC has its own issues, Oregon State is pretty much only dangerous in Corvallis and Utah is likely in for a rude awakening having to play BCS opponents every week. One loss in that stretch likely sets ASU up with a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. Two losses could do the same. Either way, they're looking at the possibility of a three-loss regular season and a very good bowl game.
