1975 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

The 1975 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The offense scored 347 points, while the defense allowed 127 points. Led by head coach Frank Kush, the Sun Devils were undefeated in the regular season (11–0), perfect in Western Athletic Conference play (7–0), and won the Fiesta Bowl. After beating Nebraska, 17–14, Kush said, "From the players' standpoint, this was probably the most important game since I have been here. Not only was the game important for the recognition this team will receive, but it also helps gain recognition for the great teams and players we have had here in the past." They finished the season (12–0) overall and were ranked # 2 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. This remains the highest ranked finish in Arizona State football history in both the AP and Coaches Poll. Despite the AP and Coaches polls ranking ASU as #2, the Sporting News and The National Championship Foundation (whom were major selection polls at the time) ranked ASU as the #1 team of the nation.

1975 Arizona State Sun Devils football
WAC champion
Fiesta Bowl champion
National champion
(Sporting News)
Co-National champion (National Championship Foundation)
Fiesta Bowl, W 17–14 vs. Nebraska
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record12–0 (7–0 WAC)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorLarry Kentera (5th season)
Captains
Home stadiumSun Devil Stadium
Seasons
← 1974
1976 →
1975 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Arizona State $ 7 0 0 12 0 0
No. 18 Arizona 5 2 0 9 2 0
Colorado State 4 2 0 6 5 0
BYU 4 3 0 6 5 0
New Mexico 4 3 0 6 5 0
Utah 1 4 0 1 10 0
Wyoming 1 6 0 2 9 0
UTEP 0 6 0 1 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 13Washington*W 35–1250,194[1]
September 20at TCU*No. 18W 33–1013,122[2]
September 27BYUNo. 13
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 20–050,944[3]
October 4Idaho*No. 14
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 29–344,262[4]
October 11at New MexicoNo. 11W 16–1020,045[5]
October 18at Colorado StateNo. 11W 33–328,191[6]
October 25UTEPNo. 11
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 24–646,257[7]
November 1at UtahNo. 10W 40–1415,833[8]
November 8WyomingNo. 10
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 21–2043,038[9]
November 15Pacific (CA)*No. 8
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 55–1443,511[10]
November 29No. 12 ArizonaNo. 8
W 24–2151,388[11]
December 26vs. No. 6 Nebraska*No. 7
W 17–1451,396[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Game summaries

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Arizona

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1 234Total
Arizona 0 1470 21
Arizona State 3 777 24

[14]

Roster

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1975 Arizona State Sun Devils football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 81 Glenn Crawford So
TE 15 Bruce Hardy So
WR 84 John Jefferson So
QB 12 Fred Mortensen So
TE 89 Dan Smith So
QB 10 Dennis Sproul So
RB 36 Fred Williams Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 53 Larry Gordon Sr
DE 82 Al Harris Fr
CB 40 Michael Haynes Sr
S 30 Dan Paschke So
S 43 Alex Stencel Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

1975 team players in the NFL

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The following players were claimed in the 1976 NFL draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Mike Haynes Defensive back 1 5 New England Patriots
Larry Gordon Linebacker 1 17 Miami Dolphins
Randy Moore Defensive tackle 12 334 Denver Broncos
Chris Lorenzen Defensive tackle 16 438 Cleveland Browns

[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Huskies crunched by 35–12". The Columbian. September 14, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Sun Devils slug Frogs". The Austin American-Statesman. September 21, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Devils pound BYU 20–0". The El Paso Times. September 28, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Kush's kicks lead Arizona St., 29–3". Press-Telegram. October 5, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Sun Devils struggle to 16–10 victory". The Arizona Republic. October 12, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Devils rip Rams". Casper Star-Tribune. October 19, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Devils' 'snafu offense' enough to beat UTEP". Arizona Daily Star. October 26, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Sun Devils clobber Utah". Fort Collins Coloradoan. November 2, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Bob Eger (November 9, 1975). "Sun Devils squeak by Wyoming, 21–20". The Arizona Republic. pp. D1, D5. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Arizona St. pulverizes Pacific". Oakland Tribune. November 16, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Arizona State comes from behind to win". The Daily Breeze. November 30, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "ASU downs Nebraska, 17–14". Albuquerque Journal. December 27, 1975. Retrieved October 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1975 Arizona State Sun Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  14. ^ "Sun Devils go unbeaten, make Fiesta." Eugene Register-Guard. 1975 Nov 30.
  15. ^ "1976 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.