Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Top Ten Wins in Sun Devil History - Baker's Dozen Edition

Last year, I published a list the Sun Devil football program's ten biggest wins. I received some excellent feedback, and it was clear I missed two critical victories: the 1975 win over Arizona, and the 1986 defeat of Washington. Also, the 2014 season saw the win over Notre Dame which, I believe, belongs on this list. So in advance of the 2015 season, here is the updated list of the ten thirteen biggest wins in ASU history.

In chronological order:
  • November 30, 1968 beat Arizona 30-7 - the "Ultimatum Bowl", leading to the formation of the Fiesta Bowl
  • December 30, 1970 beat North Carolina 48-26 in the Peach Bowl - ASU's first major bowl, its first game in the Eastern time zone, and one of its first nationally televised games
  • November 29, 1975 beat Arizona 24-21 - "The Catch" secures the win for 10-0 8th ranked ASU over the 9-1 12th ranked Wildcats
  • December 26, 1975 beat Nebraska 17-14 in the Fiesta Bowl – ASU finishes the season unbeaten, ranked #2 in the nation
  • October 14, 1978 beat USC 20-7 - ASU's inaugural season in Pac-10; Trojans came in ranked #2 and finished the season as national champions
  • January 1, 1983 beat Oklahoma 32-21 in the Fiesta Bowl - arguably ASU's greatest ever defensive unit
  • November 1, 1986 beat Washington 34-21 - #7 ASU beats #6 UW to move within one game of the program's first Rose Bowl
  • November 8, 1986 beat Cal 49-0 - clinches ASU's first ever Rose Bowl appearance
  • January 1, 1987 beat Michigan 22-15 in the Rose Bowl - ASU victory in the granddaddy of them all
  • September 21, 1996 beat Nebraska 19-0 - Cornhuskers came in as two-time defending national champions and ranked #1
  • November 23, 1996 beat Arizona 56-14 - a total destruction of the Wildcats in Tucson to cap an undefeated regular season
  • November 23, 2013 beat UCLA 38-33 - ASU clinches the Pac-12 South division title
  • November 8, 2014 beat Notre Dame 55-31 - in a matchup of top ten teams, ASU responds to a furious comeback to win impressively on a national stage

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