Arizona State's Big 12 championship defense isn't dead just yet. The Sun Devils pulled off a gutsy 24-19 win over the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames on Saturday, keeping themselves on the fringe of contention in the conference and earning qualification for a bowl game.
That effort caught the attention of a handful of Associated Press voters as ASU received exactly four votes in the latest Top 25 rankings. The Sun Devils are unofficially in a three-way tie for 34th in the nation with Illinois and LSU, who also received the same amount of votes.
With three losses, it's unlikely ASU finds its way back into the official rankings but there is a path to Dallas.