Following a 51-23 loss to California on Saturday, the time has come for Sun Devil football fans to say the one thing that puts the smallest shimmer of hope into what has been an absolute disaster of a season.
"Well, maybe next year."
It's not easy to throw such a promising football season down the drain. But at this point, it's useless to dwell on how great this year should have been.
The 2003 edition of ASU football is done, no ifs, ands or buts about it. With a 4-5 overall record and a dismal 1-4 conference record, the only thing left to play for is pride, but that can be said for a team with 10 wins and one with no wins.
The absolute best scenario for ASU would have the team win its final three games and hope for a bid to the Las Vegas Bowl. While that game gives fans an excuse to empty their wallets in Sin City, the prospect of playing a team like Air Force doesn't conjure up the excitement that another bowl against a recognizable team would.
So what does looking ahead to next season mean?
First and foremost, it means assessing the personnel returning in 2004. Head coach Dirk Koetter will be back, although the fate of his assistants isn't so certain. But more important, 17 starters will return next season, barring the unexpected departure of any players. And a lot of those starters have seen significant action since 2002.
Looking forward to 2004 also means salvaging a quality recruiting class. Somehow, Koetter and his assistants are going to have to convince top recruits - namely tight end/linebacker Zach Miller of Desert Vista High School - to ignore this season and convince them that ASU is still on the verge of being a national power. How that can be done, I have no idea. That's why Koetter makes the big bucks.
Finally, the coaching staff will have to find a different way to prepare for 2004 than whatever approach was used prior to this season. The preseason hype given to this year's team hadn't been heard at ASU in five years. Looking back, there's no doubt that both players and coaches were a little overwhelmed with being ranked in the top-25 and nearly being picked to win the Pac-10.
I'm not hinting that the team should tank the rest of this season. But when the only two options are to either keep pouting about this year or planning ahead for 2004, it's never too early to think about what awaits in the future.
Reach the reporter at andrew.bernick@asu.edu.
