Both Arizona State and Duke had promising seasons end in the month of November that ruined their years. The Sun Devils were ranked at No. 7 at one point in the AP poll, but fell to Oregon State in a bad 35-27 loss. The Blue Devils fell to Virginia Tech at home after they had three losses straight. Now the two teams who are both sitting at 9-3 will face off in the Hyundai Sun Bowl in hopes of saving their years.
Duke is looking to get their first postseason win since 1971. The team came close to getting one last year before Johnny Manziel pulled Texas A&M away at the last minute. Duke had ACC title hopes but the loss to the Hokies killed that plan along with losing to North Carolina. That allowed Georgia Tech to get the Coastal title and head to the Orange Bowl. This is Duke's third straight bowl appearance as they aim to get their first win.
A player to watch for the Blue Devils is Jamison Crowder who was an all-ACC pick as a wide receiver and return specialist. Crowder has 276 career catches for 5,402 yards. That ranks him third best among active FBS players. The issue for Duke will be their quarterback play which has been inconsistent all season long. Anthony Boone sits at the bottom of the ACC with a 116.8 passer rating along with 5.94 yards per pass. However, he does have 346 rushing yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Arizona State had the college football playoffs on their brain, but a loss to the Beavers ended their shots at the Pac 12 title along with a loss to Arizona at the end of the season. Taylor Kelly will be taking at quarterback over Mike Bercovici. He has spent much of this season injured. He has 1,874 yards on the season with 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. Bercovici has 1,445 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year. They will rely on Jaelen Strong who has over 1,000 yards for a second straight season. He has opted to enter the NFL Draft. In terms of having the edge, he will give Sun Devils the push.
