Arizona State Football: 5 reasons why Sun Devils will struggle in 2017

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Does a third straight losing season loom on the horizon for Arizona State football? Here are five reasons why the Sun Devils will struggle in 2017.

Six years ago, Todd Graham left Pittsburgh to take over at Arizona State. In his first four seasons, the Sun Devils mustered two 10-win seasons that resulted in Top 25 finishes. From 2012 through 2015, ASU made the postseason every year and managed to go 2-2 in those contests. And in 2013, they even played for the Pac-12 championship as the winner of the South.

Arizona State even got to host that contest, the last of the Pac-12 championships held on campus before the move to Levi’s Stadium. Of course, the Sun Devils were routed by North champ Stanford in that showdown. They followed up with another 10-win season in 2014, but Graham’s teams have been stagnant the past few years. A 6-6 regular season resulted in a sub-.500 record when ASU lost its bowl game in 2015.

Last year was even worse. The Sun Devils bombed to a 5-7 record, missing the postseason for the first time since 2010. The biggest indignity was the stinker against Arizona in the Territorial Cup showdown. Instead of reaching six wins and bowl eligibility against their rival, Arizona State faltered at the final hurdle and sat home over the holidays.

Now Todd Graham and his staff are probably coaching for their jobs. A third straight losing season would probably be enough to lead to wholesale terminations in an increasingly competitive Pac-12. But change might be what the Sun Devils really need, and a slight upturn could stink more than another full-scale floundering. Here are five reasons why the Sun Devils will disappoint again in 2017.