2018 Arizona State Sun Devils football team
The 2018 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first year head coach Herm Edwards and played their home games at Sun Devil Stadium. They were a member of the South Division of the Pac-12 Conference. The Sun Devils finished the season 7–6, 5–4 in Pac-12 play to finish in second place in the South Division. They were invited to the Las Vegas Bowl where they lost to [2018 2018 Fresno State Bulldogs football team|Fresno State Bulldogs football team|Fresno State].
Offseason departures
ASU had 18 Graduates, 2 transfers, 1 left the team, 1 retired medically.| Name | Number | Pos. | Year | Notes |
| DJ Calhoun | 3 | LB | Senior | Graduated |
| Koron Crump | 3 | LB | Senior | Graduated |
| Demario Richard | 4 | RB | Senior | Graduated |
| Kalen Ballage | 7 | RB | Senior | Graduated |
| Maurice Chandler | 16 | DB | Senior | Graduated |
| J'Marcus Rhodes | 17 | DB | Senior | Graduated |
| Chad Adams | 21 | DB | Senior | Graduated |
| Jacom Brimhall | 35 | RB | Senior | Graduated |
| Mitchell Fraboni | 63 | LS | Senior | Graduated |
| A.J McCollum | 65 | OL | Senior | Graduated |
| Tashon Smallwood | 90 | DL | Senior | Graduated |
| Christian Hill | 94 | DL | Senior | Graduated |
| Ryan Jenkins | 14 | WR | Senior | Graduated |
| Marcus Ball | 31 | LB | Senior | Graduated |
| Alani Latu | 44 | LB | Senior | Graduated |
| Frank Ogas | 48 | TE | Senior | Graduated |
| Corey Smith | 55 | DE | Senior | Graduated |
| Tyler McClure | 75 | OL | Senior | Graduated |
| Sam Jones | 76 | OL | Junior | Entered 2018 NFL draft |
| Brady White | 2 | QB | Junior | transferred to Memphis |
| Alex Perry | 14 | DB | Sophomore | Left the team |
| Marshal Nathe | 78 | OL | Sophomore | Medically retired |
| Blake Barnett | 8 | QB | Junior | Transferred |
Preseason
On December 20, 2017, NCAA Football had its first ever early signing period, during which Arizona State signed nine recruits. On national signing day the Sun Devils received eight more high school recruits tipping off the signing period with a total of 17 high school recruits, four JUCO transfers and one transfer which totals 22 total recruits in the 2018 offseason.Incoming transfers
Arizona State had four junior college transfers and one college transfer.Pac-12 media days
The 2018 Pac-12 media days started on July 25, 2018 in Hollywood, California. Herm Edwards, N'Keal Harry & Manny Wilkins at Pac-12 Media Days. The Pac-12 media poll was released with the Sun Devils predicted to finish in last place at Pac-12 South division.Award watch lists
Listed in the order that they were released| Lott Trophy | Koron Crump | LB | SR |
| Rimington Trophy | Cohl Cabral | C | JR |
| Maxwell Award | Manny Wilkins | QB | SR |
| Maxwell Award | N'Keal Harry | WR | JR |
| Davey O'Brien Award | Manny Wilkins | QB | SR |
| Doak Walker Award | Eno Benjamin | RB | So |
| Fred Biletnikoff Award | N'Keal Harry | WR | JR |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Chase Lucas | DB | SO |
| Lou Groza Award | Brandon Ruiz | K | SO |
| Paul Hornung Award | N'Keal Harry | WR | JR |
| Wuerffel Trophy | Manny Wilkins | QB | SR |
| Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award | Manny Wilkins | QB | SR |
| Manning Award | Manny Wilkins | QB | SR |
| Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award | Eno Benjamin | RB | SO |
Game summaries
vs UTSA
| Statistics | UTSA | ASU |
| First downs | 18 | 21 |
| Total yards | 220 | 503 |
| Rushing yards | 34–2 | 36–266 |
| Passing yards | 218 | 237 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 19–43–1 | 16–24–0 |
| Time of possession | 32:21 | 27:39 |
vs No. 15 Michigan State
| Statistics | MSU | ASU |
| First downs | 23 | 27 |
| Total yards | 377 | 424 |
| Rushing yards | 27–63 | 29–44 |
| Passing yards | 314 | 380 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 27–39–1 | 30–48–1 |
| Time of possession | 32:05 | 27:55 |
at San Diego State
| Statistics | ASU | SDSU |
| First downs | 21 | 27 |
| Total yards | 377 | 440 |
| Rushing yards | 24–36 | 58–311 |
| Passing yards | 341 | 129 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 31–46–0 | 12–24–0 |
| Time of possession | 23:55 | 36:05 |
at No. 10 Washington
| Statistics | ASU | WASH |
| First downs | 16 | 26 |
| Total yards | 268 | 373 |
| Rushing yards | 40–164 | 39–171 |
| Passing yards | 104 | 202 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 17–27–0 | 15–23–1 |
| Time of possession | 29:17 | 30:43 |
vs Oregon State
| Statistics | OSU | ASU |
| First downs | 24 | 28 |
| Total yards | 406 | 558 |
| Rushing yards | 53–261 | 48–396 |
| Passing yards | 145 | 162 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–24–0 | 14–25–0 |
| Time of possession | 30:31 | 29:29 |
at No. 21 Colorado
| Statistics | ASU | COLO |
| First downs | 18 | 25 |
| Total yards | 367 | 494 |
| Rushing yards | 39–145 | 45–166 |
| Passing yards | 222 | 328 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 12–18–0 | 24–33–0 |
| Time of possession | 26:33 | 33:27 |
vs Stanford
| Statistics | STAN | ASU |
| First downs | 24 | 20 |
| Total yards | 358 | 437 |
| Rushing yards | 43–127 | 23–84 |
| Passing yards | 231 | 353 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 22–29–0 | 26–45–2 |
| Time of possession | 38:17 | 21:43 |
at USC
| Statistics | ASU | USC |
| First downs | 20 | 19 |
| Total yards | 449 | 420 |
| Rushing yards | 44–283 | 33–149 |
| Passing yards | 166 | 271 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 14–24–0 | 21–30–0 |
| Time of possession | 32:15 | 27:45 |
vs No. 16 Utah
| Statistics | UTAH | ASU |
| First downs | 17 | 25 |
| Total yards | 325 | 536 |
| Rushing yards | 32–178 | 50–251 |
| Passing yards | 147 | 285 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 11–26–3 | 19–24–1 |
| Time of possession | 23:25 | 36:35 |
vs UCLA
| Statistics | UCLA | ASU |
| First downs | 24 | 29 |
| Total yards | 439 | 480 |
| Rushing yards | 29–104 | 59–281 |
| Passing yards | 335 | 199 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 26–35–1 | 16–22–1 |
| Time of possession | 23:50 | 36:10 |
at Oregon
| Statistics | ASU | ORE |
| First downs | 16 | 21 |
| Total yards | 324 | 449 |
| Rushing yards | 41–142 | 41–187 |
| Passing yards | 182 | 262 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 15–32–0 | 19–34–2 |
| Time of possession | 33:29 | 26:31 |
at Arizona
| Statistics | ASU | ARIZ |
| First downs | 20 | 26 |
| Total yards | 401 | 520 |
| Rushing yards | 31–136 | 44–238 |
| Passing yards | 265 | 282 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 18–31–0 | 21–39–1 |
| Time of possession | 27:43 | 32:17 |
vs No. 19 Fresno State (Las Vegas Bowl">2018 Las Vegas Bowl">Las Vegas Bowl)
| Statistics | ASU | FRES |
| First downs | 18 | 18 |
| Total yards | 293 | 436 |
| Rushing yards | 38–164 | 35–260 |
| Passing yards | 129 | 176 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 19–31–2 | 15–29–2 |
| Time of possession | 31:01 | 28:59 |
Fresno State running back Ronnie Rivers was named MVP.
Awards
Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year: Merlin RobertsonPlayers drafted into the NFL
| 1 | 32 | N'Keal Harry | WR | New England Patriots |
| 4 | 125 | Renell Wren | DT | Cincinnati Bengals |