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I’m hesitant to make it public lest angry ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ fans hurl vicious insults (or possibly rotten tomatoes) in my direction.

This take is hotter than your steering wheel when you forget to put the sun shade up on a July afternoon in ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. It’s spicier than the “reaperâ€� level of heat at Dave’s Hot Chicken.

I’m rooting for ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State in the Peach Bowl on Wednesday.

I side with the Sun Devils fully acknowledging that it’s borderline blasphemy to do so. Most UA fans would never go there. ASU isn’t just a century-long rival; it’s ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s sworn enemy.

Chuck Cecil doesn’t dislike the “Scummies� — he despises them. When he spies maroon and gold, he sees red. The Territorial Cup is a blood feud. The hate is real.

The disdain for ASU is so formidable that some refuse to acknowledge it by name. It is dismissively referred to as “The School Up North.� I’m not even sure those words should be capitalized.

I’m neither a UA alum nor a native ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥an. I started visiting here regularly in the early 2000s when I was dating my future wife, who is both of those things. It took one football game — the 2016 Territorial Cup, my first — to understand the animosity. To feel the hostility. To embrace the bitterness.

Many of you will never pull for ASU. You will always wish the worst for the Sun Devils. You took an oath when you were born in this town or became a Wildcat. You view any favor shown to ASU as an act of treason. I respect your commitment to the bit.

But please understand what actually will be transpiring Wednesday when ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ State faces Texas in the Peach Bowl, which is also a College Football Playoff quarterfinal:

I won’t be rooting for ASU so much as what ASU represents.

Normally, UA vs. ASU is “us vs. them.� In this maiden voyage of the 12-team CFP, ASU is us.

The Sun Devils are repping the Big 12 against the “Big 2.� It’s no secret that the SEC and Big Ten look down on the rest of college football. Look no further than the point spread between the Sun Devils and Longhorns. It opened with Texas as a 13.5-point favorite. . It’s a blatant sign of disrespect. It’s a clear illustration that the oddsmakers — whose lines reflect the public’s sentiments — think the Big 12 stinks.

Another example: In the discourse about who should make the CFP — a never-ending debate that unfortunately the opening weekend of games — no one brought up BYU. Only mighty Alabama from the powerful SEC could have given Notre Dame or Penn State a battle.

Never mind that the Cougars went 10-2 during the regular season, with the losses coming by a combined nine points. Or that one of them was on the road against eventual Big 12 champion ASU. Or that BYU won on the road against eventual CFP at-large entrant SMU.

None of that mattered because BYU plays in the Big 12 and not the SEC or Big Ten. ranked all three three-loss SEC teams — Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina — ahead of BYU. It had the ACC’s Miami Hurricanes — who had the same 10-2 record — four spots ahead of BYU.

The CFP committee also ranked Alabama — despite its 24-3 loss at Oklahoma, which then lost its bowl game to Navy to finish 6-7 — ahead of ASU. That happened one day after ASU obliterated Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game.

What’s that all about? Brand bias. It’s about elevating SEC teams simply because they play in the SEC. It’s about anointing the Crimson Tide because of their history, not their merit.

So yeah, I’m not just rooting for ASU on Wednesday. I’m rooting for the Big 12 and BYU. And I’m rooting against college football’s oligarchy.

Also — and this is the part that probably should be uttered in a whisper — this Sun Devils team is kinda likable.

First off, they are the ultimate underdogs. The media picked ASU to finish last in the 16-team Big 12. The Sun Devils ended up first.

Their best player, running back Cam Skattebo, is also an underdog. Despite rushing for 6,192 yards in three varsity high school seasons — including 3,550 as a junior; not a typo — Skattebo had . He began his college career at FCS Sacramento State before transferring to and starring at ASU. He wound up earning the fifth-most votes for the Heisman Trophy.

Skattebo isn’t just good at football, he’s fun to watch. He never goes down on first contact. He brushes aside would-be tacklers. He puts the Sun Devils on his sturdy back, averaging 23 touches per game.

ASU’s head coach, Kenny Dillingham, has won over the skeptics — myself included — who initially found his frat-boy vibe annoying. You can’t deny his accomplishments, lifting the Sun Devils from 3-9 to 11-2 in two years’ time. You can’t dispute the effectiveness of his approach — open, energetic, enthusiastic, uplifting.

Are the 2024 Sun Devils a one-off? We’ll see. UA fans know how that can go. But it seems highly unlikely that Dillingham, a Valley kid and ASU alum, will bail for a “better� job as soon as one comes along.

The long-term viability of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s foremost adversary is another topic for another time. I’m locked in on Wednesday. ASU vs. Texas. Big 12 vs. Big 2. Upstart vs. blue blood. Us vs. them.

Go Devils.