We've been consumed with the ASU coaching search: the drama, the intrigue, the boardroom negotations, the forwarded text messages, the humanity. Now that Todd Graham is officially our coach for 2012, lets focus on something that is happening in the very near future: the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas.
The game will kick off on Thursday, December 22 at 6:00 p.m. Mountain time. It will be broadcast on ESPN with an excellent broadcast crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Tom Rinaldi.
ASU and Boise State have only played once in football, with the 1996 Sun Devils stomping the Broncos 56-7 in Tempe. That was a great year for Arizona State football; 2011 was not. BSU is 11-1 this year, with their only loss coming to TCU. This team should be in a BCS bowl; instead they are stuck playing the middling Devils.
For the seniors, this will be their final game donning the maroon and gold. Key contributors from this class include Garth Gerhart, Gerell Robinson, Colin Parker, Bo Moos, Jamaar Jarrett, Dan Knapp and Clint Floyd. A senior-laden team like this was a surprise to swoon so badly in November, but it happened.
ASU must find a way to stop Kellen Moore and Doug Martin, two excellent football players who can tear up even the most experienced defenses. Once can only dream that Dennis Erickson has taken this game as an opportunity to try out for a new job and not just mail it in on his way to retirement.
Either way, we'll bring a lot more to the table as we approach the game, which is now a week away. Bring on the Broncos!