Coming off wins over then-No. 6 Oregon and Arizona in the Territorial Cup, Arizona State (7-5, 4-5 Pac-12) is headed to El Paso to take on Florida State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl.

The Seminoles finished 6-6 and 4-4 in the ACC, but face drastic change after they fired coach Willie Taggart midseason then announced former ASU offensive coordinator Mike Norvell as their new coach on Sunday afternoon.

Interim coach Odell Haggins Jr will again lead Florida State against the Sun Devils on December 31 while Norvell hits the recruiting trail.

Despite their record, Florida State has talent. Running back Cam Akers has rushed for more than 1,1000 yards in his junior season and wide receiver Tamorrion Terry recorded over 1,000 receiving yards and gained more than 20 yards per catch.

At quarterback, sophomore James Blackman has led the Seminoles for most of the season -- he completed almost 64 percent of his passes for 2,100 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Throughout the season, though, Blackman has been competing with senior Alex Hornibrook, a Wisconsin transfer, to the point where they were listed as “co-starting quarterbacks” for a number of games this season.

On just four occasions this year, Hornibrook recorded more passes than Blackman -- which isn’t necessarily a huge tell-tale sign of what Florida State will do in the Sun Bowl but considering Hornibrook is a senior, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him garner a majority of the reps.

On defense, Florida State allows 436 yards per game (99th in the country) -- that includes 152.5 rushing yards (64th) and 283.5 passing yards (120th) -- and gives up an average of 28.5 points (71st).

The Seminoles’ defense is led by junior defensive back Hamsah Nasirildeen, who’s made 101 tackles this season -- his 8.4 tackles per game putting the 6-foot-4, 215-pound DB No. 40 in the country in the category.

Ironically, Florida State finds itself in the same position ASU was in the last time it played in the Sun Bowl -- 2017. Todd Graham had just been fired and the program had begun its restructuring under Herm Edwards just as FSU plans to do under Norvell.

It seemed like ASU had no desire to play in that game, not with all the distractions and change that encompassed it. It will be interesting to see if the same fate falls on Florida State. Heck, ASU could use it -- the Sun Devils have lost their last three bowl games.

The Sun Devils have played in the Sun Bowl seven times before, most recently losing to N.C. State in the aforementioned 2017 contest. This year’s game in El Paso will also be ASU’s fifth matchup with Florida State and its first since 1984.

As the decade comes to a close, the 2019 Sun Bowl will mark the Sun Devils’ seventh bowl of the decade. ASU holds a 2-5 record in bowl games this decade with their last win coming over Duke in the 2014 Sun Bowl.