High-level bowl games no longer influence which teams host them, but Fiesta Bowl executive director and CEO Erik Moses said it would be disingenuous not to be excited about Arizona State football’s prospects this postseason to reach State Farm Stadium.

A win Saturday against Iowa State in the Big 12 title game would give ASU a chance.

The Sun Devils have not participated in the Fiesta Bowl since 1982, but ASU was instrumental in the organization’s founding. ASU participated in four of the first five Fiesta Bowl games, originally created for the WAC champions to play postseason football.

“In 1968, our nine founders decided, ‘Okay, don’t you want to put our school in a bowl game?’ We will create our own,” Moses said Burns & Gambo from Arizona Sports on Wednesday, “and in a very short period of time they have elevated this bowl game to the level of the New Year’s Six and one of the most prestigious in the country.” So it would be exciting to have the Sun Devils back in our game…The prospect of it is tempting.”

The Fiesta Bowl features a quarterfinal game in the first expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. Arizona State’s path to the CFP is clear based on the latest rankings.

A win in the Big 12 Championship Game against Iowa State and the Sun Devils would clinch a national title. Only one Big 12 team is expected to secure a spot.

Moses said it’s much more likely the Big 12 champion would clinch a spot in the Fiesta Bowl if it gets a bye, but there is a hurdle for the conference winner.

“The challenge that exists right now for that potential is that Boise State is currently ranked 10th, Arizona State is ranked 15th and Iowa State is ranked 16th,” Moses said. “So if Boise State stays on top and wins the Mountain West conference championship, they’ll be a higher seed. They may be more likely to receive the fourth automatic qualifier, which would give them a bye. And then the Big 12 champion would probably be the fifth, automatic qualifier, but ranked 12th, and so they would have to win a first-round game to get to the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.”

The rankings have caused unrest within the Big 12, with commissioner Brett Yormark saying in a media Zoom call Wednesday that no five-seed team should be ranked ahead of the Big 12 winner.

Boise State faces UNLV in the Mountain West Championship on Friday, so a Rebels win could clear the way for the Big 12 champion to secure a bye. No. 17 Clemson plays No. 8 SMU for the ACC title, another chance for a seed ranked below the Big 12 leaders to shake up the standings.

If ASU wins the Big 12 but Boise State and SMU take care of business, the Sun Devils’ path to State Farm Stadium would likely go through a ranked home opponent that hasn’t won a conference. That might mean a visit to Penn State or Notre Dame.

“The path right now looks like they win a first-round game, which might be in Happy Valley or South Bend, and then get to the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl as a quarterfinalist to probably play a Boise State team where they win the Mountain West,” Moses said. “So yes, there is a way for them to get here. I think some of us would like a more direct route.”

How would Arizona State playing the game in Glendale impact Fiesta Bowl revenue?

The Valley loves Kenny Dillingham’s Sun Devils. Several of ASU’s home games have been sold out, including the win over BYU two games ago, which saw multiple fan stampedes.

An Arizona State University homecoming in the Fiesta Bowl would draw a larger home crowd than usual to State Farm Stadium, although Moses noted that there are ASU alumni across the country he would expect to travel to.

Hospitality partners might feel an impact on a team playing in its hometown, but the excitement around the Valley would also help generate activity elsewhere.

“Maybe there are fewer hotel rooms booked, rental cars and all those other things,” Moses said, “but by the same token, the joy and excitement around ASU, which is expected to be last in the Big 12, is in the…” Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, the bowl game it helped create, I think would create a lot of excitement and excitement in the Valley. It would burn.”

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