Tempe, AZ (AP) – The Arizona State Sundevils finalized a 1-year contract with new Head Coach AUChase prior to Season 32 of the NDL. This move, while shocking to many in the NDL community, is no shock to Coach Chase and his staff who are investing in the future of the Arizona State program and themselves. It’s been a rollercoaster ride up to this point for this Coaching Staff with brief stints at Troy, Texas Tech, and Fresno State prior to NDL S32.
Coach Chase leaves behind the Fresno State program after a 10-win season and New Mexico Bowl win in the Valley in hopes of re-establishing himself and his reputation in a Power 4 conference at program that has not had a lot of success in the NDL.
Arizona State is roughly a .500 team in the history of the NDL but has had periodic periods of success under coaches such as Shel, hugme, anderline, and ajalves. The hope is to build a legacy and program that the fans in Tempe can be proud of. The Sundevils have a combined 11-27 record since EA CFB 25 released. Coach VTrunNgun (the other Chase) eclipsed the 9-win mark in Season 29 but since accepting the role at his Alma Mater Virginia Tech, the Arizona State program has struggled in a Big 12 conference that just two seasons ago produced 25% of the CFB Playoff field. Coach AUChase has a tall task ahead but with a few valuable skill position players, there’s a sliver of hope. The upcoming season schedule is a challenge.
Here’s our preview of the upcoming Season:
Week 1 - vs East Carolina
---- Coach Razorback brings his ECU Pirates to Tempe in what many consider to be a showcase of the best drip in college football. This should be an exciting game. Despite the team rating disparity Coach Razorback has shown himself to be more than capable of pulling off upset wins as his formerly coached Purdue Boilermakers had a shocking win against Coach Shel and the Oregon Ducks just two seasons ago. Coming off a winning season at Kansas, the familiarity with the conference should be a big help.
Week 2 - @ Wisconsin
---- ASU travels to Camp Randell, one of the toughest environments in the sport, to take on a very stout and roster superior Wisconsin. A loss in Week 1 for the Sundevils could make this already tough game even less manageable but Coach Chase made it a point to schedule tough OOC games against coaches with a great reputation.
Week 3 - @ Illinois
--- A second straight road game in Big 10 territory as ASU travels to Illinois to visit Coach JustGiver and a solid Illinois squad. This has become an annual “rivalry” of sorts as these coaches have made it a point to schedule each other the past three seasons. So far this rivalry has seen a wide variety of matchips:
Week 4 – vs Texas Tech
--- Coach AUChase was unceremoniously “shit canned” (pardon my French) by Texas Tech after a 4-8 season just two seasons ago. The Red Raiders and Coach Wildes come to Tempe and bring a team Coach AUChase is very familiar with. HB Tahj Boyd was a first team All American on Coach AUChase’s Red Raider squad and the expectation is that he may carry the ball 40 times in this game. It’s going to be the first of many very challenging conference games but hopefully the team will play for the pride of their coach.
Week 6 - @ Kansas
--- The 2x National Champion Kansas Jayhawks host ASU in a clear mismatch of talent. Coach AUChase and the boys will have a hard time on the road in Lawrence dealing with the explosive Kansas skill position players. Kansas parted ways with Coach Razorback after an 8-5 season in NDL S31 but the Jayhawks have all the talent to compete for the Big 12 and ASU will have to play their best game to get a win here.
Week 7 - @ Utah
--- Old Dominion. That’s all.
Week 8 – vs Cincinnati
--- Coach AUChase saw Steamrollr looming in the vicinity to possibly land at Cincinnati and this was a worst case scenario hire for him. A game that was already going to be tough to win became even worse as Coach Steamrollr will have an enormous chip on his shoulder after being ousted by the Texas boosters following a 9 win season at Texas. Coach Steam comes in with a daunting 286-92 record and has never had a losing season in 24 seasons. The Sundevils are well aware of the challenges that await them in this game.
Week 10 – vs Oklahoma State
--- Coach Bradysenior is quiet amongst his peers in the NDl but is a solid coach who has taken on some difficult jobs at Maryland and Northwestern after an impressive 12-1 at Oregon State in Season 29. If memory serves, an Oregon walk off kick return touchdown is all that stood between them and an undefeated season. Coach Chase is not sleeping on this squad as they have one of the most impressive running backs in the game.
Week 11 - at UCF Knights
--- UCF has had a real identity crisis over the past few seasons as Coach RB moved on from the Knights and they were taken over by Coach Dpad who after a losing season was replaced with everyone’s favorite football Coach, Coach Smitty. The Knights likely abandon the Flexbone offense this year so there are a lot of unknowns but with a talented roster and a coach who just led Charlotte to a winning season, the Bounce House will be more than ready for the Sundevils to come knocking. Hopefully the fatigue of the schedule up to this point does not have the ASU roster feeling too down on themselves because this likely becomes a pivotal game for Coach AUChase keeping his job.
Week 12 – vs Kansas State
--- Another candidate for best “drip” game of the year as Coach Jaguars and his talented Kansas State squad ride in from Manhattan. Late to the game at Pittsburgh, Coach Jaguars proved himself to be a formidable coach after a winning season at Buffalo and should perform well in the Big 12. This game being at home gives the Sundevils a bit of hope but once again the fatigue of the season could be a huge deterrent here for ASU among other issues such as the very talented roster of KSU. Coming off a 10 win season, the Wildcats have proven they have the talent to win at a high level and this game will be tough.
Week 13 – at BYU.
--- Coach AUChase is very familiar with BYU and their Coach BruisedBagel. These coaches competed with each other in the Sun Belt, The Big 12, out of conference last season, and also in the post season Bracket Challenge. This will be a real challenge as two coaches familiar with each other look to play Chess but BYU will have the better pieces on the board and the home field advantage powered by Provo Pushers at their disposal.
Week 14 - vs Arizona in the Duel in the Desert
--- Coach AUChase and Big Brian squared off in last year’s New Mexico Bowl in a thrilling game that saw Fresno State come away victorious but it was a real shootout and competitive game. With the steep win goal of Arizona and the difficult schedule of Arizona State, both coaches may be fighting for their jobs come Week 14 which puts even bigger stakes on a heated rivalry game that’s worth more than just bragging rights as both Coaches look to secure the 30 points on their coaching contract for a rivalry win.
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