ASU Football: Sun Devils make small leap in AP poll

The Associated Press poll was released on Sunday morning and as expected, the Arizona State football team received more recognition after earning its first road victory of the season.

The Sun Devils appear at No. 23 after clobbering the Washington State Cougars in a 55-21 affair in Pullman, Wash. on Halloween.

After a bye in week 10, the Sun Devils slid into the 25th spot last Sunday in the AP poll and now that Todd Graham's squad has won a game away from Tempe, Arizona State has a better shot at impressing the voters as the season rolls along.

This marks the fourth time the Sun Devils have been ranked under Graham (All in 2013), but it's the first time Arizona State has been ranked in consecutive weeks. The Sun Devils cracked the top 25 after beating Wisconsin and dropped out immediately following a loss to Stanford. Then, Arizona State earned a ranking after defeating USC, only to fall from the rankings with a loss to Notre Dame.

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, the AP poll does not factor into the BCS rankings which have yet to include Arizona State. Sunday night marks the third time the BCS rankings will be released in 2013 and it's presumed that the maroon and gold will finally make their first appearance of the season.

Arizona State is 6-2 with a 4-1 record in Pac-12 play and it sits atop the Pac-12 South standings. Three other Pac-12 teams are ranked including No. 2 Oregon, No. 6 Stanford and No. 16 UCLA. The Sun Devils travel to Pasadena to take on the Bruins on Nov. 23 in a battle that could decide the Pac-12 South champion.

The Sun Devils will now turn their attention to beating the Utah Utes, who play exceptionally tough at home. Utah has just one Pac-12 win, and it came against the mighty Stanford Cardinal earlier this year.

The Week 11 AP Top 25