Head coach Todd Graham wrapped up his recruiting months ago, but apparently two speedsters never got the memo.
On Wednesday morning, a pair of javelinas snuck into Sun Devil Stadium before the Lone Wolf Wildlife helped escort the two Devils back to the wild. The news broke on every major Fox News outlet, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to name a few.
During the spring, Arizona State’s alert system was warning its students on nearly a daily basis about a bee outbreak in the Polytechnic campus. This week, we find word that some wild javelinas want to put on the pads and try to walk on to the football program in Tempe.
What’s next? On second thought, I’ll leave that to your imaginations.
My theory is that the ACC and SEC are trying to level up their competition in the Pac-12. Javelinas still run in packs, don’t they?
Anyways, does anyone else find it ironic that bees swarmed ASU’s campuses just months after the Sun Devils beat the Navy Midshipmen in the bowl game?
I bring this to your attention because the best-known bee mascot university would of course be the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Jackets also happen to be one of the few college football programs that still run the option thanks to their head coach and godfather of the modern day option, Paul Johnson.
Hold on a second. In 1995 and 1996, Johnson served as the defensive coordinator of the United States Naval Academy and the program had its first winning season in 14 years. He then returned as the head coach for six years (2002-2007) and won 45 games and made five bowl appearances, including beating Notre Dame 46-44 in triple overtime of the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl.
The Navy Midshipmen ran the option against the Sun Devils, but ASU blindsided them like a beekeeper stealing honey. The Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl was practically over after the first quarter when ASU took a 21-0 lead as they went on to win 62-28.
For those who forgot, Taylor Kelly had an impressive day under center throwing for 268 yard with four touchdowns and rushing for an additional 81 yards and a score. Oh yeah, and T. Kelly only threw two incomplete passes all game. Running back Marion Grice also racked up over 170 yards of all-purpose yards and two touchdowns.
So that means the bees lost twice by correlation. So those emails and text alerts that students received became more of a token of success because the Sun Devils won the football game previously coached by a Yellow Jacket and the school warded off a stingsational attack back on campus.
Call me crazy, but maybe the javelinas are a sign of what’s to come for Arizona State football. Seeing a hog-like creature with long sharp teeth leads me to believe a javelina is the west’s rendition of a Razorback.
There it is. It was just a matter of time before someone compared the Sun Devils 2014 season to a dangerous SEC opponent.
It took authorities just a matter of hours to capture the loose animals caged inside the fences of Sun Devil Stadium. And the team has every intention of trapping the prey that tries to seize Tempe this fall.
Coach Graham proved in his first year that he is the right man for the job both on and off the field. He essentially turned the third string quarterback at the time to the nations eighth most efficient passer and the defense returns to the NCAA spotlight for its second straight year thanks in part to the dynamic duo Will Sutton and Carl Bradford tag-teaming the opposing quarterback for a nation-leading 24.5 times in the backfield.
Isn’t that ironic. Two years ago, Graham was announced as ASU’s head coach and that was the same year Arkansas won 11 games and captured the Cotton Bowl in January 2012. I think the football gods are shining on the valley to show Sun Devil Nation that the 2013-14 athletic year could be one of the best yet.
So if the ACC and the SEC are no contest to the Devils this year, then that means Arizona State is on the verge of beating the newest member of the ACC, Notre Dame, in October and it could be preparing to play an SEC opponent in a BCS bowl game over the holidays.
We should take the javelina escapade as a sign of what’s to come. I’m not saying this event is accurately predicting the future like the Mayan calendar tried to do. But I am saying at least this prophecy has a chance of being fulfilled.
You can reach Nick Marek on Twitter @nmarekasu14 or by email nmarek@asu.edu.
