2015 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

2015 Arizona State Sun Devils football

Conference	Pacific-12 Conference South Division
2015 record	0–0 (0–0 Pac-12)
Head coach	Todd Graham (4th year)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Norvell (4th year)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Keith Patterson (2nd year)
Co-defensive coordinator	Chris Ball (3rd year)
Base defense	Hybrid Attacking
Home stadium	Sun Devil Stadium (Capacity: 65,870)


2015 Pacific-12 football standings
Team	W		L	W		L
Northern Division
California	0	–	0	0	–	0
Oregon	0	–	0	0	–	0
Oregon State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Stanford	0	–	0	0	–	0
Washington	0	–	0	0	–	0
Washington State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Southern Division
Arizona	0	–	0	0	–	0
Arizona State	0	–	0	0	–	0
Colorado	0	–	0	0	–	0
UCLA	0	–	0	0	–	0
USC	0	–	0	0	–	0
Utah	0	–	0	0	–	0
Championship: December 4, 2015
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Sun Devils football team will represent Arizona State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They are led by fourth year head coach Todd Graham and play their home games at Sun Devil Stadium. They are a member of the South Division of the Pacific-12 Conference.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at ASU	Alma Mater
Todd Graham	Head coach	4	East Central (1987)
Mike Norvell	Offensive coordinator, Quarterbacks	4	Central Arkansas (2005)
Keith Patterson	Defensive coordinator	2	East Central (1986)
Shawn Slocum	Special teams coordinator	1	Texas A&M (1987)
Chris Ball	Co-Defensive Coordinator, Defensive backs	4	Western State College (1985)
Chris Thomsen	Offensive line	3	TCU (1993)
Jackie Shipp	Defensive line	3	Oklahoma (1983)
Chip Long	Tight ends	4	North Alabama (2005)
DelVaughn Alexander	Wide receivers	4	USC (1995)
Bo Graham	Running backs	3	Tulsa (2006)
Reference:^[1]

Previous season and offseason

Arizona State finished the 2014 season 10–3 (6–3 in the Pac-12), with a 36–31 victory over Duke in the Sun Bowl. The Sun Devils began the season ranked #19 in the AP Poll and won their first three games convincingly, but suffered a major loss when third-year starting quarterback Taylor Kelly broke his foot against Colorado. Backup junior Mike Bercovici made his first career start in a 62–27 loss to UCLA, the Sun Devils' worst loss under Todd Graham. The team quickly bounced back with a 38–34 victory over USC thanks to a Hail Mary with no time remaining to Jaelen Strong, a play dubbed by the media as the "Jael Mary". This momentum carried on as the Sun Devils defeated perennial Pac-12 power Stanford on ESPN.

Kelly returned from injury against Washington, and led them to a 24–10 victory. The following week ASU won a critical Pac-12 South game against top-25 Utah on a Zane Gonzalez field-goal in overtime. The following week, the Sun Devils played their biggest game in the Todd Graham era against highly-ranked Notre Dame, a game that many analysts viewed as an elimination game for a spot in the first-ever College Football Playoff. ASU stormed out of the gates leading 34–3 late in the first half, and although the Irish managed to cut the lead to 3 in the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils pulled away and secured a 55–31 victory. With the win, ASU moved into the top-10 for the first time since the 2007 season. The good feelings did not last long however as the Sun Devils were upset the following week at Oregon State. Despite the loss, ASU went into the final week of the season with a chance to clinch the Pac-12 South championship, and earn the right to play Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

In the final week of the regular season, ASU was fighting for the Pac-12 South with UCLA, and in-state rival Arizona. UCLA was considered the favorite since they were playing unranked Stanford. But with a loss, the Arizona-Arizona State game would decide the division champ. Both games kicked-off simultaneously, and word had reached Tucson that Stanford upset UCLA with minutes to play. Arizona pulled away and defeated the Sun Devils 42–35, clinching the Pac-12 South. The following week, the Wildcats were defeated by Oregon who was selected to play in the inaugural College Football Playoff. ASU was invited to the Sun Bowl were they were matched with Duke. The game was expected to be a shootout as both teams had dynamic offenses. A late interception by ASU's Kweishi Brown sealed a 36–31 victory for the Sun Devils. Freshman running back Demario Richard scored all four Sun Devil touchdowns, and Zane Gonzalez added three field goals. A critical play was freshman Kalen Ballage's 96-yard kickoff return after Duke had taken a 31–30 lead to set up the go-ahead score. The 2014 season was a successful one in Todd Graham's third year as head coach. It marked the first time since 1973 Arizona State won ten or more games in back-to-back seasons.

Class of 2015 signees

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jalen Bates DE	Kaplan, LA	Kaplan High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Oct 7, 2014
Jalen Bates DE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Cade Cote OG	Gilbert, AZ	Williams Field High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	257 lb (117 kg)	Jun 23, 2014
Cade Cote OG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Davon Durant OLB	Greenwood, SC	Butler Community College	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Oct 21, 2014
Davon Durant OLB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Raymond Epps TE	Yuma, AZ	Arizona Western College	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Apr 5, 2014
Raymond Epps TE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Morie Evans ATH	Buford, GA	Buford High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jan 16, 2014
Morie Evans ATH	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Dillon Faamatau DT	Norwalk, CA	Norwalk High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	268 lb (122 kg)	Jan 26, 2015
Dillon Faamatau DT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Tommy Hudson TE	San Jose, CA	Archbishop Mitty High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Jul 1, 2014
Tommy Hudson TE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Malik Lawal OLB	Murrieta, CA	Chaparral High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	Jun 18, 2014
Malik Lawal OLB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
George Lea DT	New Orleans, LA	Landry-Walker High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	258 lb (117 kg)	Nov 12, 2014
George Lea DT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Jaason Lewis ATH	Virginia Beach, VA	Ocean Lakes High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	241 lb (109 kg)	Sep 25, 2014
Jaason Lewis ATH	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Steve Miller OT	Gilbert, AZ	Gilbert High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	Jun 23, 2014
Steve Miller OT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Stanley Norman CB	Gardena, CA	Junipero Serra High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Jan 3, 2015
Stanley Norman CB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Kareem Orr DB	Chattanooga, TN	Notre Dame School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Feb 2, 2015
Kareem Orr DB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Bryce Perkins QB	Chandler, AZ	Chandler High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	201 lb (91 kg)	Apr 3, 2014
Bryce Perkins QB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Nick Ralston RB	Argyle, TX	Argyle High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Feb 1, 2014
Nick Ralston RB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
DeOnte Reynolds DT	Pinole, CA	Contra Costa College	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	325 lb (147 kg)	Feb 4, 2015
DeOnte Reynolds DT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Zach Robertson OG	Bellflower, CA	St. John Bosco High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	313 lb (142 kg)	Dec 26, 2014
Zach Robertson OG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Khaylan Thomas OLB	Etiwanda, CA	Etiwanda High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Apr 3, 2014
Khaylan Thomas OLB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Mason Walter OT	Temecula, CA	Chaparral High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Jun 23, 2014
Mason Walter OT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Brady White QB	Newhall, CA	William S. Hart High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	May 2, 2014
Brady White QB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Joseph Wicker DT	Long Beach, CA	Long Beach Polytechnic High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	260 lb (120 kg)	Feb 4, 2015
Joseph Wicker DT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Jay Jay Wilson ATH	Valencia, CA	Valencia High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Feb 2, 2015
Jay Jay Wilson ATH	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 19 Rivals: 20 247Sports: 20 ESPN: 26
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015.

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Site
September 5	vs. Texas A&M*	NRG Stadium • Houston,TX (Texas Kickoff)
September 12	(FCS) Cal Poly*	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
September 19	New Mexico*	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
September 26	USC	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
October 3	at UCLA	Rose Bowl • Los Angeles, CA
October 10	Colorado	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
October 17	at Utah	Rice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT
October 29	Oregon	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
November 7	at Washington State	Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
November 14	Washington	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
November 21	Arizona	Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ (Territorial Cup)
November 28	at California	California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Mountain Time.

Reference:^[2]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP
Coaches'
CFP	Not released																Not released

References

↑ "Football – 2015 Coaches". Arizona State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
↑ "Schedule". Arizona State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved January 9, 2015.

Arizona State Sun Devils football

Venues	Irish Field (1927–1935) Goodwin Stadium (1936–1957) Sun Devil Stadium (1958–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arizona (Territorial Cup)

Culture & lore	Sparky the Sun Devil "Maroon & Gold" Arizona State University Sun Devil Marching Band

People	Head coaches NFL draftees

Seasons	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015