Phil Steele adds hype for three games on the Arizona State football schedule

TEMPE, Ariz — Arizona State football has a lot of eyes on them this season. It’s the first season of the Kenny Dillingham era, and while expectations aren’t sky-high, fans will be watching. The Sun Devils have a demanding schedule ahead of them, and college football analyst Phil Steele just added hype to three games this season.

2023 Arizona State football schedule facing three ranked opponents

The Pac-12 is predicted to be deeper than ever next season. While this is great for the conference overall, it will make Kenny Dillingham’s first season more challenging.

One of the top college football analysts, Phil Steele, recently released his top-25 rankings for this upcoming season. Steele ranked three different ASU opponents in his top 25.

• No. 14 Washington: Arizona State’s biggest win of the season last year was a home upset over the Huskies. The Sun Devils have recently had a lot of success against these northern opponents. ASU leads the series all-time 22-17 and has been dominant in the last 15 games. In their last 15 meetings, the Sun Devils are 13-2 against the Huskies. It won’t be easy this season, however. Washington returns 15 starters and most importantly, Michael Penix. ASU will travel to Seattle on Oct. 21.
• No. 15 Oregon: Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils will welcome Oregon to Tempe in mid-November. Oregon is a front-runner in the Pac-12 and might be one of the biggest games of the season. Dillingham will get to go against his former team. The last matchup between these two schools was in 2019, ASU won 31-28. You may remember that game as the Jayden Daniels breakout game. The standout QB threw for 408 yards against Justin Herbert and the Ducks. The second-to-last game of the regular season should be fun in Tempe.
• No. 16 Utah: Arizona State will have the pleasure of traveling to one of the toughest environments in the sport on Nov.4. The Sun Devils will head to Salt Lake City to face off against what might be the best defense in the conference. Last season Utah finished second in the Pac-12 in total defense (behind Oregon State). They return nine defensive starters to that elite unit. Utah dominated in Tempe last season, winning 34-13. That hasn’t been the case all time, however. Arizona State leads the all-time series, 22-11. Dillingham has a tall task in front of him if he wants to make win #23 this season.

Arizona State football is set for some fun matchups against top teams in 2023.

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