Watching archived game film and calling out players' names, it appeared as though Frank Kush was still ASU's football coach.
At least for an hour anyway.
On Friday, Kush showed highlights from the memorable 1971 and '75 seasons, energizing a small gathering inside Hayden Library that came to relive the pair of Fiesta Bowl victories.
He marveled at the 1971 team, which downed Florida State 45-38 in the first-ever Fiesta Bowl behind former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Danny White and former Kansas City Chiefs running back Woody Green.
He proudly hyped the 1975 team, which finished the season unbeaten and earned a No. 2 national ranking in both wire service final polls after an improbable 17-14 win over Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.
"If you get good players, you might be a good coach," said Kush, ASU's director of football development.
In the 1971 Fiesta Bowl, Green scored the decisive touchdown with 34 seconds left, enabling ASU to establish itself as a national powerhouse. Danny Kush, Frank's son, was the hero in the 1975 Fiesta Bowl, thanks to his 29-yard field goal that held up after safety John Harris forced a fumble in the game's waning moments.
Kush didn't mention any parallels between the 1971 and '75 teams and this year's team, although he insists that on-the-field coaching philosophies have remained the same.
"If somebody couldn't do something but he was a great athlete, then you had to find a way for him to get it done," Kush said. "Don't give him too much to think about."
Having recruited in-state players for 22 years as ASU's head coach, Kush claims that college football coaches have developed a tendency to overlook local talent nowadays.
"They do a good job of knowing the athletes, but what happens today is that they're so stereotyped from the standpoint of models," said Kush, referring to coaches recruiting players who aren't versatile enough to adapt to change. "I felt very strongly about the Arizona kids. I always felt that we had to get the kids from our own backyard."
Reach the reporter at brian.gomez@asu.edu.