Closer Look: How Arizona State matches up with Texas A&M

Entering his fourth season in Tempe, Arizona State coach Todd Graham has a team that some preseason polls project among the nation’s top 15.

That would seem reasonable for a team coming off a 10-win season and returning nine defensive starters.

However, to reach those high expectations the Sun Devils will count on a little-used senior quarterback and a rising sophomore running back, both of whom have shown promise. They also need to settle some uncertainty at receiver and make significant improvement to a defense that allowed an average of 27.9 points per game last season.