New-look Sun Devils aim to surprise after a wave of departures
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New ASU starting quarterback Cutter Boley. Photo: Chris Coduto/Getty Images for ONIT
The Sun Devils find themselves in a familiar position heading into the 2026 season — overlooked and hoping to prove people wrong.
Catch up quick: ASU put quite the target on its back two years ago, when second-year coach Kenny Dillingham and transfers Sam Leavitt and Cam Skattebo led the squad to a Big 12 title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
- The 2025 season began with ASU ranked No. 11 but culminated in an 8-5 record after a midseason injury sidelined Leavitt for the remainder of the year.
- In December, ASU signed Dillingham to a five-year extension, ending speculation about him jumping to a bigger program.
State of play: The Sun Devils are essentially starting over with their roster.
- Leavitt is gone, having transferred to LSU to chase a Heisman Trophy.
- ASU also lost four players to the NFL draft, including first-rounders Jordyn Tyson (receiver) and Max Iheanachor (offensive line).
- In fact, not a single full-time offensive starter remains on the team.
What's new: That's forced Dillingham to rebuild on the fly, working the transfer portal to bring in talent.
- The most high-profile addition is quarterback Cutter Boley, who was named the starter last week after transferring from Kentucky.
- Boley threw for 2,160 yards, 15 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over 11 games last season. Ranked the 40th-best college quarterback in the country by The Athletic, he's talented but needs refining.
- Other new faces to keep an eye on are wide receivers Reed Harris (transferred from Boston College) and Omarion Miller (Colorado).
Yes, but: The defense hasn't experienced quite as much turnover, with several contributors returning from what was a solid unit a year ago.
- That includes defensive lineman C.J. Fite, who returned to Tempe instead of entering the NFL draft.
Zoom out: Just how well the Sun Devils do this season will depend on how quickly their roster gels. Entering the season, prognosticators don't expect much.
- Projections from The Athletic and ESPN give ASU a roughly 5% chance of making the College Football Playoff, and The Athletic sets the odds of ASU winning its conference at 2%.
- Record predictions range from a middling 6-6 to 8-4.
What's next: ASU will get their first chance to change that narrative when it opens its season at home against Morgan State at 7pm Saturday.
- The Sun Devils can really show they're serious a week later, when they visit No. 8 Texas A&M.
- The Big 12 schedule should be manageable, with marquee road games against No. 12 Texas Tech (Oct. 17) and No. 14 BYU (Oct. 31) before finishing the year taking on rival Arizona in Tucson on Nov. 28.
- Notably, ASU does not have to face Big 12 contenders Utah (No. 21) or Houston (No. 23).
The bottom line: ASU overcame longer odds to contend two years ago and notched plenty of impressive wins in 2025, so dreams of another conference title may not be so far-fetched.