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ASU Best Teams: No. 2 1969 Baseball vs. No. 1 1996-97 Football

The best arounnnnddddd

After a long period of voting thanks to you the fans, we have arrived at the championship of our ASU Best Teams bracket. After 1969 Baseball beat 1965 Baseball in our last matchup, they will square off against the 1996-97 Football team to see who was the best ASU team in history as chosen by you.

Current bracket:

No. 1 1996-97 Football

Record: 11-1, PAC-10 Champions Finished 4th in AP Poll

Head coach: Bruce Synder

Notable players: Jake Plummer, Pat Tillman, Keith Poole

The rundown: The season that brought a lot of joy till the end. The Sun Devils behind Jake Plummer, who finished third in the Heisman voting, rolled through the regular season 11-0. With the flashiest win of the season during Week 3 with a 19-0 victory over at the time first-ranked Nebraska. Besides the season opener against Washington and a trip to UCLA, every ASU win was decided by two possessions. As the No. 2 in the country ASU faced Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, the Sun Devils were in position to secure a possible national championship with No. 1 Florida State falling to No. 3 Florida, but a Buckeye touchdown with 20 seconds left sent ASU to its lone defeat of the season.

No. 2 1969 Baseball

Record: 56-11, (15-3 WAC), Won College World Series

Head coach: Bobby Winkles

Notable players: Larry Gura, Paul Powell, Billy Cotton

The rundown: In ASU’s last of the trio of championships in the 1960’s, Winkles club was led by senior pitcher Larry Gura. With a 19-2 record, he recorded a 1.01 ERA. Between the MLB Draft and the secondary phase, the team had four first round picks. The Sun Devils lost their opening College World Series game to Texas before winning five straight to secure their third title.

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