The 1996 Rose Bowl season
11-1, a Pac-10 title and a Rose Bowl berth — a near-perfect run to the doorstep of a national title
Program prestige
Zeitgeist statureNational Program ITerritorial Cup
89 meetings since 1931 See the whole history →No fan reading for this rivalry yet this week. The heat trend and each side’s mood appear when fans start talking about it.
The last 5 · year-by-year
- L 2025 Loss 7-23
- W 2024 Win 49-7
- L 2023 Loss 23-59
- L 2022 Loss 35-38
- W 2021 Win 38-15
Program outlook
Program outlook
Arizona State was picked dead-last in the Big 12 in 2024 and won the conference. A year later, with Cam Skattebo in the NFL and Sam Leavitt's foot in a boot, the Sun Devils went 8-5. Now Kenny Dillingham is rebuilding the quarterback room and asking a fair question: was 2024 a foundation or a ceiling?
Since Oct 11: L 25-53 at Texas Tech; W 28-17 vs Kansas State; L 20-27 at BYU. 4-4 this season.
Read the full essay — 4 more paragraphs
The 2024 season was the most joyful out-of-nowhere run the desert has had since Jake Plummer took Arizona State to the Rose Bowl in 1996. Dillingham — a Tempe kid coaching his hometown school — rebuilt a 3-9 roster into an 11-3 Big 12 champion in three years, picked last in the preseason and treated as a fluke all season long. Cam Skattebo carried the offense, finishing as a Heisman finalist. The blue-chip programs that had never taken Tempe seriously were looking at a program that had beaten them to a Playoff berth. The Fork Up was genuine.
The 2025 answer was more complicated. Leavitt broke his foot against Baylor and eventually entered the transfer portal; backup Jeff Sims started down the stretch and then declared for the NFL Draft. Skattebo was gone. A Sun Bowl loss to Duke, 42-39, closed the year at 8-5. The internal fracture is a real one: the faction that sees a sustainable Dillingham program, culture-built and energy-driven, versus the faction bracing for the regression now that the two players who powered the breakthrough are both gone. Dillingham's answer entering 2026 is to find the next quarterback and prove the system creates stars rather than depending on them.
The 2026 Big 12 season will adjudicate the real question, which is not whether Arizona State can win 11 games again — it is whether the program has enough infrastructure to compete for the league title when it is not the team nobody respects until kickoff. Being the overlooked pick was Tempe's fuel in 2024. Getting picked higher changes the dynamic. Dillingham has earned the chance to manage that shift; the rebuilt quarterback room is what determines whether he gets to.
Through five games of 2026 Arizona State is 3-2. After a 48-20 loss to Texas A&M and a 24-17 win at Kansas, it lost 55-19 at home to Baylor on October 4 as 3.5-point favorites, then beat Hawai'i 30-12 on October 11. It is 1-1 in the Big 12.
On the field
High-energy, downhill football under Dillingham — a scheme built on physical running and fast-pace tempo that weaponized Skattebo's carry-count in 2024. The identity underneath that season was a defense that played above its recruiting ranking, a chip-fueled home-field advantage in the desert heat, and a coaching staff that kept an undermanned roster running at the right moment in the Big 12 calendar. The 2026 version depends on who the new quarterback is and whether the offensive system transfers to a new arm.
Arizona State has won 60% of its games since 1931 — 69% at home, 48% on the road.
615-393-18 all-time · 93 seasons · 1931–2026
Home
399-169-7
Away
199-203-10
Neutral
17-21-1
44%
1930s
43%
1940s
73%
1950s
73%
1960s
76%
1970s
65%
1980s
55%
1990s
53%
2000s
57%
2010s
51%
2020s
The CFP era
13 seasons inside the CFP era, no bids yet — the era the program is still trying to break into.
Trajectory · quality-score line · AP rank dotted · CFP bids marked · coach regimes ribboned
Program quality
AP rank (inverted)
CFP appearance
Swipe left for earlier seasons
Arizona State’s 2014–2026 record is 82-71.
Kenny Dillingham
Kenny Dillingham has held the program for 4 seasons — the era is established.
Era Kenny Dillingham · 2023–presentPrev: Shaun Aguano (interim) (2022)OC: Marcus ArroyoPrev OC: Beau Baldwin (2023)DC: Brian WardPrev DC: Donnie Henderson (2022)
4
years · era
Arizona State and Arizona, meeting by meeting
Arizona State leads the series 45-43-1 (since 1931); in the last 10 meetings, Arizona State is 6-4
2025: Arizona won 23-7. After this game, Arizona State led 45-43-1.
Last 25 meetings: ▲ Arizona State won, ▼ Arizona won, by how much
Each step is one meeting: up when Arizona State wins, down when Arizona wins, flat for a tie. Counts every game in our records since 1931. Tap the line for any season.
Arizona State in History
- Arizona, Arizona State and Utah leave the Pac-12 for the Big 12Conference change · Aug 4, 2023
Moments in Arizona State history
- Texas 39, Arizona State 31College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl · Jan 1, 2025
- Mississippi State 24, Arizona State 20Sep 6, 2025
- Arizona State 16, Michigan State 13Sep 8, 2018
On this date, Nov 4, 2023: Utah 55, Arizona State 3
What this program never forgets
Most weeks vanish. These didn’t.
2004
Tillman’s enlistment and death
The Sun Devil who chose service over the NFL and gave his life — the program's enduring identity
Wound
The 2024 Big 12 title and Playoff berth
Picked last, won the league and reached the first 12-team Playoff — the great modern Sun Devil season
Moment of the year · 2026
Lost 20-48 at Texas A&M
Week 2 of 2026. A reckoning loss — the data point the next season must answer.
2022–2026
Arizona State has sent 10 players to the NFL Draft since 2022 — 2 of them in the first round.
Steady. Reliable mid-tier pipeline.
10
picks · 2 in round 1
#8
Jordyn Tyson
Wide Receiver · 2026 · 
New Orleans Saints · #70/485 final season
New Orleans Saints · #70/485 final season
Succeeded by Jaren Hamilton · 4★
#21
Max Iheanachor
Offensive Tackle · 2026 · 
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
#91
Rachaad White
Running Back · 2022 · 
Tampa Bay Buccaneers · #16/315 final season
Tampa Bay Buccaneers · #16/315 final season
#26 all-time · 26 first-round picksthe talent factory →
More in this tab
Program facts
Program résumé
1CFP apps
Ladder finish
Season standing · 2026 · 4-4
Season standing · 2026 · 4-4Arizona State is 4-4 — competitive, unranked, not yet bowl-eligible.
Competitive in FBS but not bowl-eligible — the close-loss tier.
FBS competitive
Sub-FBSBuildingBowlRankedContenderPlayoff
Conference
Big 12 standing · 2026
8th in the Big 12
Arizona State is 8th of 16 in the Big 12 at 2-3. The path to the title is steep — the focus is on bowl access and rivalry wins.
| # | Program | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah | 5-0 |
| 2 | BYU | 4-1 |
| 3 | Texas Tech | 4-1 |
| 4 | Arizona | 3-2 |
| 5 | Baylor | 3-2 |
| 6 | Houston | 3-2 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 3-2 |
| 8 | Arizona State | 2-3 |
| 9 | Cincinnati | 2-3 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 2-3 |
| 11 | TCU | 2-3 |
| 12 | UCF | 2-3 |
| 13 | West Virginia | 2-3 |
| 14 | Colorado | 1-4 |
| 15 | Kansas | 1-4 |
| 16 | Kansas State | 1-4 |
Coaching history
Coaching history
- Hired Kenny Dillingham
- Hired Shaun Aguano (interim)
- Herm Edwards departs
- Shaun Aguano departs (interim)
- Hired Herm Edwards
- Todd Graham departs
- Hired Todd Graham
- Dennis Erickson departs
Coordinator lineage
Arizona State’s offense and defense, by coordinator
FBS-relative efficiency percentile per season (2014–2026), same population as the Coordinator Mirror board. Dashed vertical lines mark a coordinator change.
Offense2014–2026
2014–2015 · Mike Norvell2016 · Chip Lindsey2017 · Billy Napier2018–2019 · Rob Likens2020–2021 · Zak Hill2022 · Glenn Thomas2023 · Beau Baldwin2024–2026 · Marcus Arroyo
Defense2014–2026
2014–2015 · Chris Ball (co) / Keith Patterson2016 · Keith Patterson2017 · Phil Bennett2018–2019 · Danny Gonzales2020 · Marvin Lewis (co) / Antonio Pierce (co)2021 · Antonio Pierce2022 · Donnie Henderson2023–2026 · Brian Ward
Elite (≥70th pct)AveragePoor (≤30th pct)
Gameday customs
Rituals
Three gameday rituals — the ones outsiders never quite catch.
Fork Up
since 1980s
more
The 'Fork Up' hand sign — three fingers held aloft like a pitchfork — is the Sun Devil fan identity marker. Used during every game, photographed at every recruit visit, raised after touchdowns. The pitchfork-as-mascot symbol fits the Sun Devil identity uniquely.
Sparky the Sun Devil
since 1946
more
Sparky the Sun Devil — designed in 1946 by Disney animator Berk Anthony — is one of CFB's most-distinctive mascot characters. The pitchfork-wielding devil + maroon-and-gold colors anchor every game-day visual.
2024 CFP Run
since 2024
more
Kenny Dillingham's 2024 11-3 + Big 12 championship + first-ever CFP appearance — coming off a 3-9 floor in 2023 — is one of the most-improbable single-season turnarounds in CFB history. Cam Skattebo's Heisman-finalist running + Dillingham's age-34 youngest-P5-coach status created national narrative momentum.
Cultural identity
2025 L
2024 L
2021 L
2018 LReddit blowups
r/CFB moments
2.1k
[Postgame Thread] Arizona State Defeats TCU 27-24
835
[Postgame Thread] BYU Defeats Arizona State 27-17
590
[Postgame Thread] USC Defeats Arizona State 28-27
All-time top community posts
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