Arizona State head football coach Todd Graham was fired shortly after beating rival Arizona in the Territorial Cup. The Sun Devils came back after halftime to beat the Wildcats 42-30 in Tempe on Saturday, and Sunday morning it was announced that Graham was officially out of a job.

So why was Graham fired after finishing the regular season 7-5, beating a then-ranked No. 5 Washington and getting the Sun Devils back to a bowl game?

ASU is tired of mediocrity, contending for a spot in the middle of the PAC-12, fighting tooth and nail for bowl eligibility and not being considered a real threat by other PAC-12 teams. A preseason PAC-12 media poll predicted ASU to finish near the bottom of its conference. While this didn’t exactly happen, as ASU finished second in the PAC-12 South, it shows how little was expected of Todd Graham’s Sun Devils coming into the season.

Graham’s first three winning seasons at Arizona state were overshadowed by two losing seasons in 2015 and 2016 and he has arguably been in the hot seat since.

Tempe is voted one of the top college towns in the country year after year and plays in a competitive conference. The new athletics, specifically the football facilities, are state of the art and the weather year-round is unbeatable. These factors alone should be able to attract top recruits from across the country, however Graham’s weakness has been landing top recruits.

After the USC loss, it became clear that under current circumstances, ASU would never really be competing for a PAC-12 title unless there was a major change. For the first time in years it looked like the Sun Devils could have a chance, but a blitzing USC defensive line quickly dashed any hope of ASU competing in the conference title game.

Coming off a big loss at Notre Dame, USC came to Tempe with a vengeance. ASU was potentially playing USC for the PAC-12 South, and after big wins against Oregon, Utah and Washington, it looked like the Sun Devils had a shot at beating the Trojans. By halftime, ASU trailed USC 31-10 and its “double inferno” student section nearly cleared out. At the end of the third quarter, with the Trojans up 38-17, Sun Devil Stadium was nearly empty. Only USC fans and a few loyal ASU fans stayed to watch the Sun Devils fall to a merciless USC.

President of Arizona State University Michael Crow even walked through the student section as students were leaving, encouraging students to cheer on their team and stay at the game. This shows Arizona State fans’ fair-weather mentality; they support their Sun Devils when they’re winning but as soon as the team is down two scores, they can’t leave the stadium any faster.

Being one of the largest colleges in the US, ASU should be able to fill the stands for a football game, but with its inconsistent play, lack of real college football culture and tradition and recent disappointments in must-win games, filling the stands of Sun Devil Stadium has proven difficult.

Ray Anderson and the university are no longer satisfied with being considered average, hence the announcement of a coaching change.

Potential replacements for Arizona State’s vacant head coaching position include former Stanford defensive coordinator and current Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason, even though Vanderbilt finished sixth in the SEC East. If ASU is looking to remove itself from mediocrity a coach with an 18-31 record might not be the best move.

Other names being thrown around for the job are Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia head coach who boasts a 53-36 record, Michigan’s passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and recently fired Texas A&M head coach Kevin Sumlin.

Before the Detroit Lions, Austin was the Florida Gator’s defensive coordinator, coached defensive backs at the Arizona Cardinals and served as a secondary coach for the Baltimore Ravens. A downfall regarding Austin would be that he has no head coaching experience.

Sumlin was highly sought after by the Sun Devils before he took the A&M job, but now that the Aggies owe Sumlin the rest of his contract, roughly $10 million, it is very unlikely he rushes to leave before that negotiation is settled. Leaving for ASU would mean his $10 million buyout would shrink significantly.

Graham and his staff are still set to coach until the Sun Devil’s bowl game appearance.