We’re here. The 2015 College Football season kicks off on Thursday night.  

Although the Sun Devils don’t meet Texas A&M until Saturday, three Pac-12 teams play Thursday night: Utah, Arizona and Colorado. Washington and Oregon State play Friday night, and the seven remaining conference teams including ASU play Saturday.

In the quest for a spot in the College Football Playoff, several factors are in play: strength of schedule, competitive losses to top teams, and strong wins against lesser opponents to start. In the Pac-12, following the trail of “who beat who and how” is important as it pertains to ASU. It also impacts the national perception of the conference as a whole.

2016

That’s the focus of The Devils Best Interest. We want to give you a bird’s eye view of the conference each week and provide an argument for which results will be most beneficial for the Sun Devils. This game gets much more dramatic once inter-conference battles are underway by week 4, so stay tuned.

My standard preseason disclaimer – If the Sun Devils simply handle their business, all goals will be achieved, and we’d have no reason to mind the business of our Pac-12 counterparts. Right? But consider this: As of October 18 of the 2014 season, only four teams remained undefeated.

Lastly, we love different opinions and perspectives. Chime in with a different take on any games in this weekly feature. #ForksUp

Michigan @ Utah

Utes getting ready for Michigan at home

Welcome to game #1 of the Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan. That’s the national story-line that will prevale on Thursday night. Salt Lake City can be quite tough for visiting teams as we’ve seen recently in the Pac-12. Utah fans have been salivating over this one all summer, much like ASU fans and the match-up with A&M.

We want Utah to win this game, especially if Michigan is able to upset Ohio State at the end of the year. This is a big game for the Pac-12 Conference, and if the Utes can rise to the challenge, everybody benefits.

UTSA @ Arizona

Every year I struggle with this. Hopefully a few of you can relate. We want all Pac-12 teams to prevail over inferior conferences. However, I HATE rooting for the Cats. In this case, as much as it pains me, we want the team down South to win strictly for the good of the conference. Or don’t we?

P.S. UTSA stands for the University of Texas San Antonio, and UA nearly lost their opener at San Antonio last year. So there’s somethin’ to watch.

Colorado @ Hawaii

Colorado Coach Mike MacIntyre at Aloha Stadium

This is a match-up between two underachieving teams as of late. It will be a welcomed moral-booster for the start of someone’s season. We’re pulling for the Buffs.

Weber State @ Oregon State

Storm Woods

The Beavers’ State Head Coach Gary Andersen was just voted as the nation’s No. 3 coach by players from across the country. He has a chance to prove it Friday night. Get ’em, coach.

Washington @ #23 Boise State

The Dawgs are looking for a lot of luck in this one. Washington Head Coach, Chris Peterson, will be facing the formidable program he built at Boise State.

Expectations for the Huskies in 2015 are low… very low. I see a blowout here by the Broncos, but who doesn’t love an underdawg. An upset for the conference would be nice. Go UDUB!

Stanford @ Northwestern

Here’s a nice Pac-12/ Big 10 match-up, this one in Big 10 country. We want the Cardinal to dominate in the outskirts of Chicago. Period.

Portland State @ Washington State

I have no intentions on watching due to the 11:00 a.m. kickoff, but this could turn out to be a good game.

Go Pirate! Go Cougs! Go Pac-12!

Virginia @ #13 UCLA

These two teams played closer than expected last year in Virginia.

For UCLA, all eyes will be on highly-touted freshman QB, Josh Rosen. Without Brett Hundley, it will take a little while before we really know the identify of the 2015 Bruins.

We want UCLA to win and remind the East Coast football fans who are mired in the East Coast football bias that out West is where we play football.

Grambling State @ Cal

Snore-fest here. Cal will be much better this year, but how much can we really tell from this match-up? Cal QB Jarred Goff should light it up in an expected lopsided victory. Good for the Pac.

#15 ASU @ Texas A&M

The Devils are prepared to #IceOut Texas A&M

Here is the big one, no need to tell you who we’re rooting for here. A word of caution though, I don’t believe we will be as good as we look if we win or that we will be as bad as we look if we lose. I hope fans keep that in perspective, because the hype is off the charts for this one.

This will be a very well-coached game. I believe the Devils have the edge in talent and experience. They have a palpable x factor in their team chemistry and accountability from QB Mike Bercovici down. They have #EmbracedTheGrind.

Texas A&M is hoping to regain it’s footing in the SEC West, and they have elite talent as referenced by the recruiting class rankings. However, I feel the real force to be reckoned with in this one is the environment. It will be SEC madness at NRG Stadium, and Texas A&M’s 12th man should be deafening under the roof. There is a lot to love about this game.

Go Devils!

Eastern Washington @ Oregon

This game will be fun to watch because Oregon’s new quarterback transfer who is set to start for the Ducks, Vernon Adams, played at Eastern Washington just last season. Coaches at Eastern Washington have publicly expressed their frustration about losing the kid they recruited and developed to powerhouse Oregon.

We will see how Adams fits in with his new team, but Oregon should win handily at home. Go Ducks!

Arkansas State @ USC

The biggest intrigue here will be if USC coach Steve Sarkisian does anything stupid. My guess is that he will be on his best behavior, and why not, his team should win big at home.

Well that is it for a huge holiday weekend full of college football. Enjoy!