Sun Devils have an uphill climb this season

Forks up, ASU faithful! The first game of the season is Thursday night against our friends from up north, the NAU Lumberjacks.

• The Sun Devils should be able to pull off an easy win against NAU — but that might be the only easy thing about this season.

State of play: ASU has had a tough off season in almost every way.

• Five of the team's top coaches resigned or were fired in the months following the NCAA's announcement that it was investigating the team for recruitment violations.
• At least 13 players, including starting quarterback Jayden Daniels and leading receiver Ricky Pearsall, left the team through the transfer portal.

Oh, and this little thing: ASU president Michael Crow and athletic director Ray Anderson were caught flat-footed when USC and UCLA announced their departure from the Pac-12 searching for more TV revenue with the Big Ten.

• Crow in particular has been a vocal supporter of former Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, who has taken blame for subpar deals for the conference.

Yes, but: We've got some new blood to try out. ASU scored 14 transfers, including nine from the Power Five.

• Florida transfer Emory Jones will start as quarterback.
• Offensive lineman and Valley native Joey Ramos comes to ASU after three active seasons at Iowa State.

• Wide receiver Cam Johnson (no known relation to the Suns' Cam Johnson) joins the Sun Devils from Vanderbilt.

Reality check: The new talent likely won't be enough to save ASU from a mediocre season.

• The first half of the Sun Devils' schedule includes tough opponents like Oklahoma State, Utah and USC.
• Experts predict the team will win no more than eight games this year and may even lose to UofA for the first time in six years (😱say it ain't so!).

😈 Jessica here: My first year at ASU (2011), the Sun Devils won only six games and lost to UofA at home 27-31. My fandom can weather anything.