Utah
vs.
Arizona State
College Football
Pick – Analysis
11/1/14
There are three teams fighting for the Pac-12 South and that doesn’t include USC or UCLA, who were both expected to be the best in the division before the season. Instead, the two teams from Arizona and Utah are the ones sitting with one Conference loss. Arizona State, playing at home, is a -5 point favorite at 5 Dimes sportsbook against Utah.
Neither of these teams is that far off from being undefeated. Utah lost an unlucky home Game against Washington State in their first Past-12 Game, while Arizona State let the UCLA Game get away from them in their backup QB’s first start.
These teams battled last season with the Sun Devils coming away as a 20-19 winner. It was a defensive Game, with neither team really being able to do much. In the end, Travis Wilson threw two interceptions while completing 28.6% of his passes and that was it.
The Utes, normally a better home team, are actually undefeated on the road. While the UCLA and Oregon State wins were extremely close, they still deserve credit. Considering the Bruins aren’t all that great these days, this will probably be Utah’s toughest test of the season so far. Unfortunately, they still have Oregon, Stanford and Arizona in the three weeks after.
Things are a little easier for the Sun Devils, who could be in a showdown with Arizona in the regular season finale. After letting things go against UCLA, they managed an incredible comeback at USC that involved a Game-winning Hail Mary and have handled Stanford and Washington in their last two. With Taylor Kelly back at quarterback, there’s no reason ASU can’t be one of the best teams in the Conference again.
Despite having ongoing QB issues, it looks like Travis Wilson will be the guy going forward again for Utah, considering he led them to a win last weekend against USC. Wilson hasn’t thrown an interception yet this season, which is impressive for his standards. Utah will likely try and get Devontae Booker (844 yards, 8 TDs) going on the ground because he’s their best weapon.
Arizona State probably has the better overall team, but there’s no denying that Utah just keeps finding ways to win Games. Their last three wins have been decided by 11 points, with one coming in double overtime.
The Sun Devils defense has picked it up in the last two Games, but that may be a result of playing poor offenses. They know stopping Booker will be the main task here.
On the offensive side, ASU has one of the best and most dynamic attacks in the conference, especially with Taylor Kelly playing. While Kelly didn’t do much on the ground last weekend , he still can create with his legs. But in his third season as the team’s starter, Kelly is one of the top QBs in the Pac-12, even though he doesn’t get as much recognition as others. Running back D.J. Foster continues to make plays, whether on the ground (648 yards, 6 TDs) or as the team’s second-best receiver behind Jaelen Strong.
The Utes are 6-1 ATS in their last seven Games overall and have covered six straight against teams with a winning record. The Sun Devils don’t have many trends, but they have covered in three straight. This matchup is still pretty new, but Arizona State has won every Game over the past three years, and going back to 1985, the Sun Devils are 7-0 against the Utes.
Both teams known for their offense however both defenses have been coming on as of late. Note the Utes lead the nation in sacks. With that in mind, we’ll go under the total in this one, which currently sits at 58. Under 58