TEMPE – Nearly 50 years have passed since the Arizona State football team stormed through the season unbeaten, capping off its magical year with a Fiesta Bowl win against Big Eight powerhouse Nebraska.
Although times and the game have changed, the memories haven’t faded for the 1975 Sun Devils squad that finished No. 2 in the national rankings with a perfect 12-0 record. The legendary team will be honored Saturday afternoon when the players and coaches are inducted into the Sun Devil Hall of Fame at halftime of ASU’s matchup against Texas Tech at Mountain America Stadium.
The recognition is long overdue for one of the best teams in program history. Led by coach Frank Kush, it was a season in which the Sun Devils dominated both sides of the ball, averaging 30 points a game while only allowing 10.3 by a defense that became known as the “Crunch Bunch.”
For players like Glenn Crawford, Jim Heilig, Danny Kush and Cedric Price, Saturday’s induction represents more than just an accolade. It’s a reminder of the grit and toughness the team represented as well as the brotherhood that defined them.
“We didn’t fear anybody, (or) any other team,” said Crawford, who played wide receiver for the ‘75 Sun Devils. “It was just that idea of knowing that we were just all bad as they come because of what we went through at practice. … Another thing, too, that resonates is what it does is band brothers together.”
Kush’s hard-nose coaching style reflected the team’s identity and gave the players a sense of belief that they could defeat any team on any given day.
The 1975 season didn’t come without its fair share of struggles for the Sun Devils, who had finished 7-5 the previous year, including a skid that saw them lose four of their last six games. After four blowout wins to begin the ‘75 season, the Sun Devils had a date with fellow Western Athletic Conference opponent New Mexico.
Arizona State came into the game ranked No. 11 nationally and expecting to dominate the Lobos on the road. New Mexico was riding a three-game losing streak before hosting the red hot Sun Devils.
“I thought that was the toughest game …,” said Price, a lineman for the ‘75 team. “It was the middle of the season and everyone was kind of shooting for us. … It was just a one-score game too, as well, but it was the lowest amount of points we scored all season.”
Despite its lowest scoring output of the season, Arizona State was able to squeak by the Lobos, 16-10. Despite the win, Kush was livid.
Price recalled Kush’s visceral reaction during a film session after the game was over, a response that pushed the Sun Devils into a second gear for the remainder of the season.
“He (Kush) was just going nuts,” Price said. “Even when we got back, he tore up the projector during film day on that Sunday.”
Kush refused to settle for the lackluster result of that game, said the players, and his relentless intensity drove Arizona State even harder.
The Sun Devils subsequently went on a heater against WAC opponents: Colorado State, UTEP and Utah. During that three-game stretch, they outscored their conference foes 97-23, displaying dominant and clean football on both sides of the ball.
Heilig, the starting center and a team captain, highlighted the Sun Devils’ mentality and the qualities that turned them into such a dominant team in all phases of the game.
“With this team the uniqueness to it was that we came together as a unit and set out on the path for that season to accomplish everything we were capable of doing,” Heilig said. “We didn’t look at it like we want to go undefeated. That happened because we took each game as an individual challenge to us.”
The regular season came down to one memorable, season-defining victory, a win that carried even more emotional weight considering it was against longtime rival Arizona, which shut out ASU the previous year and brought a 9-1 record into Sun Devil Stadium against 10-0 ASU. And one particular, season-defining play still lingers in the memories of those who remember it as if it happened yesterday.
Trailing 14-3 in the first half, the Sun Devils had the ball on Arizona’s 8-yard line when quarterback Dennis Sproul dropped back to pass. He found wide receiver John Jefferson, who fully extended his body to make a diving catch toward the back of the end zone.
While many argued that Jefferson landed out of the end zone, the touchdown reception now known as “The Catch” helped propel Arizona State to a 24-21 victory in the annual Territorial Cup game.
The win put the Sun Devils at the top of the WAC with a perfect 11-0 record and a bump to No. 7 in the national rankings.
Their reward? A late December matchup with sixth-ranked Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl at Sun Devil Stadium.
Going into the game, the Sun Devils used the mindset that Kush instilled in them reflective of his tough and hardwired coaching. Known for his legendary preseason training sessions at Camp Tontozona, the disciplinarian Kush often forced his players to endure three practices a day, two with full contact, before ending with wind sprints in the summer heat.
“We knew we were tougher than them,” Crawford said of Nebraska. “We knew we practiced harder than them. We just knew we had more grit than them.”
The Sun Devils’ resilience and fortitude was on full display against the Cornhuskers as the game came down to the wire. Tied at 14 with a few minutes remaining, the Sun Devils had to settle for a field goal attempt deep into Nebraska territory.
Out trotted kicker Danny Kush, the coach’s son. The previous play – a halfback dive on third down – set up Danny Kush to comfortably convert the 29-yard field goal.
“What I didn’t realize at the time was that my dad was running that play to the right,” Danny Kush said. “If we got a first down, great. If not, if we had to kick the field goal, he had the ball in the center of the field. I didn’t realize that at the time, I was just pissed because I thought it was a dumb play call.”
Danny Kush compared his game-winning field goal to hitting a perfect line drive in baseball.
“It wasn’t a long kick – just kick it normal,” he said. “When I hit the ball, I must’ve just hit it perfect because my first instinct was, ‘Oh crap it’s going to be short.’ I must’ve hit it in the sweet spot.”
But the game wasn’t quite over. With barely a minute remaining, ASU safety John Harris forced a fumble that was recovered by junior lineman Rocky Mataali, sealing the 17-14 victory for the Sun Devils.
The win completed Arizona State’s perfect season – one that has never been replicated – forever stamping the 1975 team in school history. Come Saturday, in a ceremony where players will receive Fiesta Bowl rings and be reintroduced to an adoring crowd, they will be a permanent fixture in ASU lore after their official induction into the Sun Devil Hall of Fame.
“I’m just grateful that it is (happening) and I was surprised when I got the news from (ASU athletic director) Graham Rossini,” Crawford said.
Heilig agreed that the honor is very deserving and is grateful for the honor.
“It feels great,” Heilig said. “I think it’s well deserved. Going undefeated isn’t an easy task.”
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