ASU coach Todd Graham directs his defense in a game against USC in Los Angeles on Oct. 4. (Photo by Alexis Macklin)Year three of any college coach's tenure is often the most pivotal and is viewed as the first true look into how he is performing.
By the third year, a head coach will have had ample time to institute his system, his culture and his style. He will have brought in his own recruits, established his tendencies and preferences and will have for all intents and purposes, remade the program in his image.
Based on Todd Graham's track record of bolting programs quickly, there was doubt if ASU would ever reach the pivotal year three under Dennis Erickson's successor.
After last year's team exploded onto the national stage with an unexpected run to the Pac-12 title game, big name programs like Texas were sniffing around after Graham. Sun Devil fans braced themselves for a messy divorce, but it never came.
Graham, to his credit, has done nothing to indicate he wants to be anywhere else. He has bought into the ASU traditions and has place great emphasis on them during his time in Tempe.
In May, ASU committed to Graham with a contract extension through 2019, and in September, Graham committed right back by donating half a million dollars to ASU's Momentum campaign.
In other words, Graham has been exactly what ASU needed from its head coach. After Erickson grumbled his way to the end of an impressive career, the program was left in the dumps.
After years of mediocrity, disappointment and a crippling inability to show up for big games, this was a team going nowhere and a fan base growing rapidly disinterested.
Graham brought new life to Tempe, albeit wrought with early fears. After all, we Sun Devils had been hurt before and we didn't want to end up like Tulsa and Pitt fans who were left at the altar by this same man.
It seemed a forgone conclusion that Graham would bolt when former Athletic Director Steve Patterson accepted the same position at Texas. After all, Texas had all the money in the world to throw at Graham, and Patterson was the man who had convinced Graham to leave Pitt after just one season.
Oh, how foolish we were.
Graham has talked the talk and walked the walk. He hasn't given us middle-of-the-road coach speak when it came to possibly leaving. He denied it, spoke of his love for ASU and revved up Sun Devil Nation.
Here we are in year three basking in the bright light that scattered the post-Erickson malaise.
But who are we kidding — Graham could have Sparky tattooed on his chest, and it wouldn't matter if he wasn't delivering on the field. Never fear, as the man has delivered results even the most optimistic of fans weren't expecting.
Graham's unit has made strides in each season, starting off with an 8-5 record in his first year that ended with a bowl victory.
2013 was the kind of dizzying rise that no one saw coming, compliments of a 10-4 record and an 8-1 tally in conference games.
After such an improvement, coupled with the loss of many defensive starters, some expected 2014 to be a humbling return to earth for the Sun Devils.
So far, Graham has the team cruising with a 5-1 record that defies the naysayers who expected a down year for the Devils.
Yes, there was an ugly loss to UCLA which reminded some that this is a team still needing to prove its worth in big games.
But giving credit where credit is due, the team has stepped up in some difficult situations.
Even after losing big time contributors like Carl Bradford and Will Sutton, ASU's defense is eighth in the Pac-12 in points allowed per game, sixth in yards allowed per game and is the conference's third stingiest pass defense, allowing just 239.8 passing yards per game.
The special teams, which has been a point of concern, has shown improvement, forcing two fumbles against Stanford and ranking as the conference's third best in field goal percentage.
Graham has also turned the young team into a very disciplined unit. ASU has the fewest penalties in the Pac-12 by a very wide margin. Only 29 yellow flags have been thrown against the Sun Devils. The next closest team is UA with 41.
Thanks to a miraculous play known as the Jael-Mary, ASU now holds the tie breaker against USC which could yield a second straight Pac-12 South title for the Sun Devils.
Any way you slice it, Graham has proved his worth both on the field and off it.
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