Tied with the Orange and Sugar Bowls, the Sun Bowl is the second-oldest major college bowl game behind the Rose Bowl, as it has been held each postseason since New Year’s Day 1935.

ASU’s 2017 berth gives the Sun Devils their sixth all-time Sun Bowl appearance, tying the Fiesta Bowl (1971-73, 1975, 1977, 1983), as the most frequently visited bowl game by the Arizona State football program. ASU has also appeared in the Sun Bowl in 1940-41, 1997, 2004 and 2014.

The six appearances give ASU the third-most Sun Bowl berths in game history behind host UTEP’s eight and Texas Tech’s nine. The Sun Devils are 3-1-1 in their previous five Sun Bowl appearances, winning each of the past three times in El Paso.

Arizona State has earned multiple berths in four other bowl games as the Devils have made four appearances in the Holiday Bowl (1985, 2002, 2007, 2013) and two in both the Aloha (1999-2000), Rose (1987, 1997) and Salad Bowls (1950-51). ASU also appeared in the Cactus Bowl following the 2015 season as well as its predecessor, the Insight Bowl, after the 2005 campaign.

2014 Sun Bowl: Arizona State 36, Duke 31

In search of back-to-back 10-win seasons for the first time in over 40 years, ASU faced the Duke Blue Devils on Dec. 27, 2014, with a crowd of 47,809 on hand.

ASU built a formidable first-half advantage with its 20-3 lead midway through the second quarter, but allowed a pair of touchdowns in the final 3:44 of the quarter to enter halftime with just a 20-17 edge.

The Sun Devils rebuilt a two-score lead by scoring 10 unanswered points in the third quarter, keeping a 30-17 edge through about the first five minutes of the fourth quarter.

From there, the Blue Devils stormed back and scored a pair of unanswered touchdowns giving Duke its first lead of the day with a 31-30 score with 5:03 to play.

True freshman Kalen Ballage took the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to the Duke four-yard line, with fellow freshman Demario Richard punching in for six on the following play. ASU failed its two-point conversion, taking the score to a 36-31 lead for Arizona State.

Duke reached the Arizona State 14-yard line with 1:28 remaining, but Sun Devil cornerback Kweishi Brown intercepted an Anthony Boone pass in the end zone to seal the ASU victory.

For the game, Richard had four total touchdowns – two rushing, two receiving – while D.J. Foster posted 121 all-purpose yards and Jaelen Strong caught seven passes for 103 yards.

Richard was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, Marcus Hardison earned the Most Valuable Lineman Trophy with 13 total tackles including one for loss and a quarterback hurry and Ballage took home the Most Valuable Special Teams Player Trophy.

For the year, ASU finished 10-3 with a No. 12 final AP Poll ranking – the fourth-highest final ranking for the Sun Devils since joining the Pac-10 Conference in 1978.

Strong was named a First-Team All-American and safety Damarious Randall was an Honorable Mention All-American, while linebacker D.J. Calhoun and defensive lineman Tashon Smallwood were named Freshman All-Americans. Strong and Randall also were named First-Team All-Pac-12, as was offensive lineman Jamil Douglas. Calhoun and Smallwood join Ballage and Richard among those who appeared in the 2014 game as freshmen and will end their Arizona State careers Friday as seniors against N.C. State.

2004 Sun Bowl: Arizona State 27, Purdue 23

As was the case in the Devils’ previous Sun Bowl appearance seven years earlier, ASU’s backup quarterback was forced into a starting role but still guided Arizona State to a victory over a Big Ten Conference foe.

Senior starter Andrew Walter was injured against Arizona to end the regular season, promoting backup Sam Keller into the lineup for his first career start. Keller answered the challenge in impressive fashion, as the sophomore threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns to guide ASU to a 27-23 win over Purdue on New Year’s Eve before an El Paso crowd of 51,288.

Keller was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, but an additional catalyst was sophomore Rudy Burgess, who caught a pair of fourth-quarter screen passes for touchdowns including the game-winner to enable Arizona State to exit victoriously. For the game, Burgess carried 20 times for 125 yards and caught three passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns.

ASU Hall of Famer Derek Hagan also excelled on offense, as the junior caught nine passes for 182 yards and a touchdown. Hagan also was a Second-Team All-American that season.

With the victory over Purdue, ASU finished with a 9-3 record and a No. 19 final AP Poll ranking, still the second-most wins by a Sun Devil team in the 21st century. ASU that year also featured Pac-10 Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year Zach Miller at tight end as well as First-Team All-Pac-10 honorees in offensive lineman Grayling Love and safety Riccardo Stewart.

1997 Sun Bowl: Arizona State 17, Iowa 7

More than a half a century after the program’s last postseason trip to El Paso, ASU emerged victorious in a low scoring battle with Iowa on New Year’s Eve in front of a crowd of 49,104.

After suffering a serious injury in the regular season finale against Arizona, starter Ryan Kealy missed the bowl game and was replaced by backup Steve Campbell – and even briefly cornerback Jason Simmons – at quarterback for the Sun Devils.

ASU’s run game made the difference as running back Michael Martin totaled 169 yards on 27 carries including a one-yard touchdown. Martin was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, while First-Team All-American and Morris Trophy winner Jeremy Staat earned the Most Valuable Lineman Trophy after notching three sacks against the Hawkeyes. Wide receiver Lenzie Jackson caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Campbell and kicker Robert Nycz connected on a 20-yard field goal as well.

After the bowl win, the 1997 Sun Devils finished with a 9-3 record and ranked No. 14 in the final AP Poll, one year removed from an 11-1 finish that included a Pac-10 Conference title and Rose Bowl berth. The 20 combined wins across the 1996-97 seasons remains the greatest total in a two-year span for ASU since 1972-73.

The Devils in 1997 also featured First-Team All-American and Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year Pat Tillman at linebacker, Second-Team All-American offensive guard Kyle Murphy and Third-Team All-American center Grey Ruegamer.

1941 Sun Bowl: Case Western Reserve 26, Arizona State Teachers College 13

On the heels of the program’s second consecutive Border Conference championship, Arizona State Teachers College held a 13-7 halftime lead over Case Western Reserve but allowed 19 unanswered points in the second half to suffer a 26-13 defeat before a crowd of 12,000 in El Paso.

The opponents from Cleveland – now a Division III program – were paced by fullback Steve Belichick – Bill’s father – who scored the game’s first touchdown in what is the first and only bowl game for the Case Western Reserve football program.

Wayne Pitts answered with a 10-yard scoring reception from Joe Hernandez in the second quarter, followed by a sensational 94-yard touchdown run by halfback Hascall Henshaw.

In the second half, Western Reserve scored on a blocked kick and notched a pair of rushing touchdowns to gain its 13-point win.

The 1940 Sun Devils showcased All-Border Conference members in end Sam Andrews, center Ray Green, Henshaw and guard Al Sanserino. Pitts was inducted into ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1979 and Henshaw earned the same honor the next year, making them two of only four Arizona State football players from the pre-World War II era to have been inducted into ASU’s Sports Hall of Fame.

1940 Sun Bowl: Arizona State Teachers College 0, Catholic University 0

The first bowl game in program history, Arizona State Teachers College faced Catholic University – now a Division III football program – from Washington, D.C. in a game that ended in a scoreless tie on New Year’s Day 1940.

The Bulldogs – Arizona State’s mascot at the time – coached by Dixie Howell reportedly had a large statistical advantage but fumbled four times and threw ‘several’ interceptions in front of a crowd of 13,000 fans in El Paso.

With the tie, ASTC’s 1939 squad finished with an 8-2-1 record, with wins against San Diego State, West Texas State, California-Poly, Whittier, New Mexico State, Texas-El Paso, Northern Arizona and New Mexico and losses to Hardin-Simmons and the San Diego Marines. The eight-win total marked a school record at the time that would not be broken until 1950.

The Border Conference Champion Bulldogs were guided by all-league selections in halfback Joe Hernandez, fullback Wayne Pitts, guard Noble Riggs and guard Al Sanserino.