ASU's top 12 all-time home opponents

[HUSKER 37]

ASU's top 12 all-time home opponents

by Bob Young - Sept. 15, 2008 02:52 PM

The Arizona Republic

This seemed like a really good idea last week.

 

We would run down the toughest opponents that have ever come into Sun Devil Stadium to face Arizona State in football, and decide where second-ranked - or so we expected - Georgia fit on the list.

 

See, that's what we get for looking ahead. One would think we would have learned by now that we must take this job one column at a time. But, no. We couldn't resist peeking ahead.

Naturally, Georgia bumbled around against South Carolina and slipped a spot to No. 3 in the Associated Press and USA Today coaches polls.

 

The Sun Devils, meanwhile, slipped up big-time against Nevada-Las Vegas and fell all the way out of the AP poll and down to No. 24 in the coaches poll.

 

However, if you think we're going to let all that digging around in the archives go to waste, you're crazy. Especially since we asked Doug Tammaro, director of media relations and digging around in the archives at ASU, to help.

 

So here's a Dirty Dozen of the toughest teams to face the Sun Devils in Tempe, and so far ASU is 4-7 against the list:

 

1.Nebraska, 1996: Two-time defending national champs arrived with a 26-game winning streak and 37 regular-season victories in a row.. The Cornhuskers also had crushed Arizona State 77-28 a year earlier in Lincoln. The Sun Devils and Jake Plummer not only pulled the upset, ASU shut out Nebraska 19-0. It was the first time Nebraska had been blanked in a regular-season game in 23 years.

 

2. Southern California, 2005: Ranked No. 1, the Trojans came to Sun Devil Stadium with a 25-game winning streak. They had drilled Oklahoma for the national title to end the previous season. USC took care of business 38-28 that day but fell to Texas in the BCS Championship game.

 

3. Southern California, 1978: Ranked No. 2 by AP, the Trojans ended up sharing the national title with Alabama, despite beating the Crimson Tide in their game before visiting Sun Devil Stadium. In their first home Pac-10 game ever, the Sun Devils stunned USC 20-7.

 

4. Nebraska, 1975: The Cornhuskers were co-champions of the Big 8 and came to Sun Devil Stadium for the Fiesta Bowl. Western Athletic Conference champion Arizona State put itself on the national map - and up to No. 2 in the final rankings - with a 17-14 upset.

 

5. Miami, 1994: Coached by some dude named Dennis Erickson, the Hurricanes came to Tempe ranked No. 5 and rolled 47-10. They ended up the season sixth in AP and coaches polls.

 

6. Nebraska in 1987: The Cornhuskers were ranked second in the nation and won 35-28. They finished sixth in the final polls.

 

7. Southern California, 1988: We're seeing a pattern here. The Trojans were rated No. 2 and blew out the Sun Devils 50-0. USC finished seventh in the final AP rankings and ninth in the coaches poll.

 

8. Washington State, 1997: OK, the Cougars were only ranked No. 10, but they were undefeated at the time and would go on to a No. 9 finish in the polls and a Rose Bowl berth. If there is any question about how big the ASU victory was, the fans tore down the goal posts and carried them off to Mill Avenue.

 

9. Washington, 1992: The second-ranked Huskies won 31-7 and went on to a top-10 finish in the AP and 11th in the coaches poll.

 

10. Georgia, 2008 -- The Bulldogs began the season atop the AP rankings, but have slipped one notch each week despite winning their first two games. Until we see where they eventually end up, we can't rank them any higher.

 

11. Louisiana State, 2005: The game was moved to Sun Devil Stadium because of Hurricane Katrina, and the Sun Devils nearly pulled an upset before falling 35-31 to the fifth-ranked Tigers. LSU finished 12th in the final BCS standings despite the difficulties Katrina created for the team.

 

12. Notre Dame, 1998: The Fighting Irish were ranked in the Top 25 and won easily. This was the first time the Sun Devils had ever played against the golden domers, so we'll put them on the list.

[huskerswrkhavoc]

[Huskerballz]

 

 

 

Mmmmmm....Arizona State's.....

[DJR313]

I am going to take in a game there in Tempe on October 25th vs. Oregon. I have talked to some ASU fans and they have a tremendous respect for the Huskers and Husker fans, real good people. I am looking forward to the trip.

[huskerswrkhavoc]

I am going to take in a game there in Tempe on October 25th vs. Oregon. I have talked to some ASU fans and they have a tremendous respect for the Huskers and Husker fans, real good people. I am looking forward to the trip.

 

 

one of my best friends from high school is a student down there right now.....loves it

[no_name_needed_2001]

Oh that 1996 game......NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Ohio Pete]

I am going to take in a game there in Tempe on October 25th vs. Oregon. I have talked to some ASU fans and they have a tremendous respect for the Huskers and Husker fans, real good people. I am looking forward to the trip.

 

 

one of my best friends from high school is a student down there right now.....loves it

I'm told the

 

coeds

 

campus is beautiful.

[papersun87]

I got a 27 on the ACT . . . which landed me in the top 25% of ACT scores at ASU.

[husker B-rent]

I got a 27 on the ACT . . . which landed me in the top 25% of ACT scores at ASU.

 

 

ok?