The Arizona St. Sun Devils are still in the Pac-12 South hunt, despite three straight losses and a 6-5 record. Regardless of win or loss in ASU's upcoming game against the Cal Golden Bears, the Sun Devils will still be bowl eligible for the 2011 postseason. According to SB Nation's very own Bill Connelly, the Sun Devils are projected to play in the Hyundai Sun Bowl against the Georiga Tech Yellow Jackets.
Connelly's projections have the Sun Devils losing their season finale to Cal and finishing 6-6. He also has the UCLA Bruins losing to the USC Trojans and the Utah Utes defeating the Colorado Buffaloes to give Utah the Pac-12 South (after starting 0-4 in the conference, no less).
Should the Sun Devils instead defeat Cal while watching UCLA fall to USC and Utah beat Colorado, ASU will represent the Pac-12 South in the inaugural Pac-12 title game. A win over Cal would likely give them a higher bowl game, and the preceding scenario involving an ASU win, a UCLA loss and a Utah win would give ASU a chance to climb even higher on the bowl hierarchy with a shot against the Pac-12 North champion (the Oregon Ducks, in all likelihood).
For ASU to even begin improving its bowl fortunes, the Sun Devils must snap their three-game losing streak and close out the regular season with a victory over Cal. If they do, the Sun Devils will have a 7-5 record and a shot at representing the Pac-12 South.
For more on the Sun Devils, check out House of Sparky. For a full look at the 2011 bowl projections, check out SB Nation.