It has been 25 years since an Arizona State football team was in Pasadena on New Year’s Day. At the beginning of the 1996 season, only the most optimistic, borderline delusional fans were expecting a team fresh off its third 6-5 season in four years to contend for the national championship.
That hallowed 1996 team was quarterbacked by Jake Plummer, a talented quarterback who had yet to truly touch his ceiling. It featured an experienced defense led by the venerable Pat Tillman. It was led by head coach Bruce Snyder, who had been consistent in his first four seasons but had yet to break through.