TEMPE — Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here.
In Dante’s Inferno, the phrase greets the protagonist at the gates of hell. Splayed across a 40-by-15-foot sign above Arizona State’s student section, the seven-word declaration warns ASU’s opponents of their fate. At least, it’s supposed to. Ahead of the Sun Devils’ final non-conference game against Hawaii, the assertion instead hung over Mountain America Stadium as an omen.
Last week’s loss, ASU’s worst at home since 2023, incited a steady departure of confidence from the Sun Devils’ fanbase. A sparsely populated crowd after the game’s final whistle reflected the shift. A similarly dismaying result against Hawaii, which entered Mountain America Stadium as three-touchdown underdogs, would further plunge the Sun Devils’ previously optimistic fanbase into despondency…