The 2011 NCAA football season saw more than its fair share of head coaching turmoil and turnover. One of the most interesting stories surrounding a regime change over the past few weeks has been the case of the Arizona St. Sun Devils. Following a turbulent and disappointing season that featured the Sun Devils dropping a slew of games to beatable teams, ASU announced they would be parting ways with coach Dennis Erickson. ASU decided to let Erickson stay to coach the team's BCS appearance, but it has gone far from smoothly. Some players have missed practices, but the biggest news in the past week was that Erickson suspended defensive end Junior Onyeali from the bowl game after the two exchanged words at practice. It will be interesting to see how the team performs in light of all this drama against a formidable opponent. ASU wrapped up the year with a 6-6 record that was just good enough to qualify for a bowl berth, while finishing with a 4-5 record in Pac-12 play.
They'll be going up against the No. 7 ranked Boise St. Broncos, helmed by Kellen Moore, who is the winningest quarterback in college football history. He led the potent Broncos offense to an 11-1 record this season while racking up 41 touchdowns. Boise State was 6-1 in their own Mountain West conference.
Game: The MAACO Las Vegas Bowl at Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV
Date/Time: Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 8 p.m. ET
TV: You can catch the live television broadcast on ESPN or stream the game on ESPN3.
Betting Odds: The Broncos are currently favored at between 14 and 14.5 points, according to our friends over at OddsShark.
Follow this StoryStream for previews of all of the FBS bowl games. See SB Nation's College Football Hub Page for complete coverage of everything to do with college football.