Making Case for Arizona State Football Being Ranked Top 25
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TEMPE -- There are still 193 days until the Arizona State football team kicks off the 2026 season at home against Morgan State - which will usher in one of the most unique campaigns in the history of the program.
While the 2025 season has been in the rearview for nearly two months, anticipation for the upcoming season has been at a fever pitch for virtually the entire time since the conclusion of the 13-game slate, although some on the outside have discounted what Kenny Dillingham can do in 2026.
ESPN's Max Olson isn't one of those, as the Sun Devils came in on his top 25 at number 23 as of last week - Arizona State on SI examines the cases to be made for ASU to garner that recognition prior to the start of the season below.
Offense More Balanced in 2026
Much of the undoing of the 2025 season had to do with relying too much on quarterback Sam Leavitt, running back Raleek Brown, and future first round pick Jordyn Tyson.
While others certainly contributed outside of those three, injuries ultimately piled up at many positions - even on the offensive line.
This season, Marcus Arroyo and Dillingham constructed an offense that is much more likely to withstand strings of injuries, as well as being much more complimentary within the context of skillsets. Much of the ceiling of the offense hinges on the performance of the quarterback room - if projected starter Cutter Boley lives up to the billing, the ceiling is limitless for this offense.
Coaching Staff Continuity Matters
Turnover is now the mainstream result in the scope of college athletics - not at Arizona State though.
Dillingham has done an exceptional job at retaining key members of the staff, as virtually every single position coach, coordinator, and support staff position is filled by the same individual that held the role last season.
Among the most crucial are DC Brian Ward, OC Marcus Arroyo, DL coach Diron Reynolds, and WR coach Hines Ward, though every coach that remained is clearly very great at what they do.
High End Talent Matters
Ultimately, high end talent is what separates good teams from great teams, and it can be argued that Texas Tech is one again the only team in the Big 12 that rosters better top-end talent than Arizona State.
Wide receivers Omarion Miller and Reed Harris set the tone at the line of scrimmage. Redshirt freshman AJ Ia is poised to take a leap forward in the tight end room. Senior DT C.J. Fite is one of the best returning defenders in the Big 12. CB Rodney Bimage Jr. is potentially poised to take a leap similar to what Keith Abney II made over the 2024/25 seasons.
Arizona State has top 25 level talent based off of the information that is known at the moment.
Read more on the bold strategy that head coach Bobby Hurley employed with comments on 1/21 here, and on why Arizona State may have saved the season with the win over Cincinnati on Saturday here..
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.