UCLA
vs.
Arizona State
College Football
Pick with Analysis
9/25/14
The main news to care about when looking at this Game is the status of UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley and Arizona State QB Taylor Kelly. Kelly is OUT for Arizona State while Hundley is listed as probable. Hundley injured his elbow two weekends ago and missed most of the Texas Game. For the past week, he has practiced with a brace on his elbow, but head coach Jim Mora hasn’t said much on the QB’s outlook for the Game.
Currently UCLA is posted as a -5.5 point favorite at betonline however the Game is still off the board everywhere else as of this writing Monday morning.
Without Hundley last Game against Texas, it was Jerry Neuheisel who led the team and actually had the Game-winning touchdown pass in the Fourth quarter. Neuheisel wasn’t bad at all going 23-of-30 for 178 yards and two touchdowns, while the Bruins ran for 217 yards as a team. It appears bookmakers feel comfortable with UCLA as favorite, no matter the quarterback, even though it is looking like Hundley will play.
As for Arizona State, their real Schedule begins with this Game. After three fairly easy wins for the Sun Devils (Weber State, New Mexico, Colorado) things are about to get extremely difficult with UCLA, USC and Stanford on the upcoming slate.
ASU had some hype going into the season, but much like UCLA, hasn’t really lived up to it, especially for betting standards. Arizona State is just 1-2 against the spread so far and actually got outgained by Colorado two weeks ago. UCLA is probably more disappointing with three non-covers to start the season.
In last year’s matchup, the Sun Devils won as -3 point road favorites 38-33. Even as favorites, it was an impressive win. Quarterback Taylor Kelly usually leads ASU, but it was their run Game that led the way with 223 rushing yards as a team. Neither defense has been all that impressive this year, so a similar result could be expected.
If that’s the case, Arizona State could have the advantage because once again their offense looks like the better unit if Kelley plays. Taylor Kelly is playing well (8 total TDs, 0 INTs) with familiar faces on his side. D.J. Foster has 510 yards on the ground, while Jaelen Strong (266 yards) is again a top target in the receiving Game.
UCLA hasn’t been as good. Even though Hundley missed most of last Game, his three passing TDs and one INT don’t look all that great for someone that was expected to fight for the Heisman. He’s still working with his receivers which could be part of the problem. Paul Perkins has been huge in the rushing Game with 304 yards and two TDs.
The Bruins are favored on the road here, but no matter who plays quarterback for them this should be another close Game. It doesn’t look like UCLA has the type of team to win easy Games, especially against a team like Arizona State so another close, back-and-forth Game should be expected.
The Bruins are 6-2 ATS in their last eight road Games vs. a team with a winning home record, but that’s their only positive trend. The Sun Devils are only 1-4 ATS in their last five Games overall, but have covered in Four straight following a bye. UCLA is 8-3 ATS in the last 11 meetings between these schools and the over has hit in the last Four.
We’ll wait for lines to be posted across the board at all sportsbooks before we weigh in on this Game. So be sure to check back on Thursday for Our take on this Game.