The state of Arizona football program is in the cloud of an NCAA investigation as it prepares for the start of the 2021 college football season.
That won’t stop the Sun Devils from shining this season, according to some early top 25 leaderboards for 2021.
Herm Edwards’ ASU team, which started training on Wednesday, has appeared in several power rankings and polls for the upcoming season.
ESPN: ASU ranked 25th in the preseason power rankings
Kyle Bonagura writes, “The Sun Devils are bringing back 21 starters from a team that should have been good last year but really never got out of gear, at least in part thanks to a COVID-19 outbreak. At Pac-12 Media On The Day, coach Herm Edwards and quarterback Jayden Daniels claimed the ongoing NCAA investigation into the behavior of the coaching staff regarding violations of COVID-19 protocols and recruitment rules will not affect the team on the field a chance to be something special and one of the faces of the conference. “
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CBS Sports: Arizona State Opens 24th College Football 130 Ranking
The site lists all of the 130 college football teams for 2021 and has the Sun Devils on their list in front of # 25 Louisiana and behind # 23 Ole Miss.
College Football News: Sun Devils Predicted 21st in AP Preseason Poll
Pete Fiutak writes, “Is that really when it all comes together? Every coach should be given a couple of years to get their guys and systems in place, and now it’s the fourth year under Herm Edwards. He’s been solid so far, and now it has “pretty much everything he needs to come up with something sensational. With the help of the super senior year, he’s bringing almost everyone back, he’s got more than enough depth to find some good fights for position, and he’s got the starting quarterback with two years of experience and the advantage of being among the best in the country belong. If Jayden Daniels is really that good, watch out. The overall talent level does not belong to the elite CFO title contender elite, but it is strong enough to require a possible run to the Pac-12 championship. “
More: 5 storylines to follow as Arizona state football begins prep for the 2021 season
College Football News: Herm Edwards’ team reportedly ranked 20th in preseason coaching poll
Pete Fiutak writes, “There is no Oregon on the regular season table and USC is coming to Tempe. Start with that, and that’s as much of a break as any Pac-12 South team can get. So what is missing outside of the evidence factor? The program has shown under Edwards that it can beat and beat great teams on occasion – such as effectively keeping Oregon out of college football playoffs by winning in 2019 – but it couldn’t get past UCLA or Oregon State right before it it beat the Ducks for two years.It could come very, very close to beating USC and UCLA last year, but it failed. It could do a lot of good, and yet five of Edwards’ 13 losses came to teams that finished. So yeah, ASU should be able to win here in Washington or a win over Utah there, but it can she doesn’t and she loses to Colorado or Washington State or Oregon State. This is by far the best team under Edwards so far, now it has to do its job. “
NCAA.com: ASU Ranked # 23 in Preseason Top 25
It reads: “The Sun Devils have only played four games but they still piled more than 1,000 yards to go with QB Jayden Daniels’ 701 passing yards. Much of the defensive talent is back too, including the top -Tackers Evan Fields. “
More: Is Herm Edwards in the college football hot seat amid the Arizona state football investigation?
Bleacher Report: Arizona State # 23 in Preseason’s Top 25 Ranking
David Kenyon writes, “Will the cloud of alleged recruitment violations sting the state of Arizona this fall? Probably not, but it is possible to add a defense that should be one of the best units in the Pac-12. “
Athlon Sports: Sun Devils occupy 15th place in the preseason rankings
Says Steven Lassan, “All the parts are in place for Herm Edwards’ team to win the Pac-12 in 2021. The Sun Devils are almost all returning from last year’s roster, including quarterback Jayden Daniels and running backs Rachaad White and Chip Trayanum. A crossover game in Washington is tough and the state of Arizona travels to Utah, but USC visits Tempe on November 6th. “
More: Report: ASU soccer assistant Adam Breneman was on leave during the investigation
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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