What coach Dennis Erickson did in his first season as a coach was remarkable. He has instilled excitement back into this program and will have the luxury of trying to repeat a more-than-respectable performance (10-2, 7-2) with senior QB Rudy Carpenter back to lead the way. All of the skill positions on offense are set. ASU is going to live up to the stereotypical ‘pass happy’ Pac Ten standards with so many great receivers. Replacing most of an OL that struggled to protect the QB may be a blessing in disguise; though, this much youth will at least need time to gel and the schedule should allow for such to occur. Another promising aspect for the team is up front on defense, where the nation's 13th-rated run defense returns a good deal of experience. The secondary will be the other question mark heading into 2008, and in the Pac Ten, that spells trouble. For ASU to duplicate last season's success, some holes obviously need to be filled at DB. Erickson has been a savvy recruiter in terms of searching out the JUCO ranks to find players that fill immediate needs, and this will again be an important factor. The Devils are likely to again be a frontrunner in the attempt to catch established powerhouse USC. With so many holes to fill, much is still uncertain in determining whether or not this team is will maintain a top 25 billing when the preseason polls start to roll out next summer.