Arizona State football included on next first-time national champion list
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When the Indiana Hoosiers took home the national championship recently by winning the College Football Playoff, they became the first FBS team to win the national championship for the first time since Florida won its first title in 1996.
Which begs the question: Who could be next?
Indiana‘s national title game triumph brings hope to many fan bases that have never won a college football championship.
One of those fan bases? Arizona State.
USA TODAY Sports interestingly wrote a story about five possible teams set up to be the next first-time champion in college football and the Sun Devils, who have long been considered a “sleeping giant” in the sport, are among the five teams.
Craig Meyer wrote of ASU football’s chances: “The Sun Devils fit the mold of many of the programs on this list. They have a wunderkind coach in Kenny Dillingham, a 35-year-old offensive whiz who seems as well-equipped as any of his colleagues to navigate the sport in the age of NIL and the transfer portal. They’ve recently made the playoffs, having done so as the Big 12 champion in 2024. There are demographic factors working in their favor, namely that they’re one of the country’s largest schools located in one of the nation’s largest metro areas. The most glaring missing piece might be money, something Dillingham addressed last month when he put out a call for $20 million from a would-be donor he said he would make ‘the most famous person in the city.’ If he’s able to get something close to that, watch out, but even without it, he’s got Arizona State in an enviable position.”
ASU has company on the list, with Wisconsin, SMU, Oregon and Big 12 rival Texas Tech the other four teams listed.
Could ASU football be close to winning a national championship and becoming the next first-time champ in college football?
There’s at least hope in Tempe.
Arizona State football fans will take it.
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State football on next first-time national champion list
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