Mike Bercovici and the Arizona State Sun Devils take on Anu Solomon and the Arizona Wildcats in a game that will feature two of the best players in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils currently hold a 5-5 record, and the Wildcats have gone 6-5. Players will take the field Saturday, Nov 21 at 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on FS1.
Arizona State beat Washington 27-17 last week. Kalen Ballage had a great game running the ball in the win, totaling 92 yards and two TDs on 11 attempts. Devin Lucien added 63 receiving yards and a TD on four receptions. Arizona also got the win in last week’s performance, beating Utah 37-30. Cayleb Jones had an outstanding performance for the Wildcats, catching five receptions for 126 yards and one TD. Anu Solomon also had a great game with 277 yards and two TDs through the air.
This week’s matchup between the Sun Devils and Wildcats has even odds and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently not available.
The Sun Devils enter the game with records of 5-5 Straight Up (SU) and 3-7 Against The Spread (ATS) this season. In their five most recent matchups, the Sun Devils went 2-3 for both SU and ATS. Chances are Arizona State will try to take advantage of an inferior pass defense. The Wildcats are 109th in the country against the pass, giving up 271.1 passing yards per game. Turning to the Sun Devils defense, there are several areas to keep an eye on. The Wildcats will be matching up against a stout Arizona State run defense, which only allowed 92.8 rushing yards over its last five matchups. A major part of the game will be whether the Wildcats can protect their quarterback from Arizona State’s hungry defense. It averages the third-most sacks in the nation with 3.6 per game. Arizona State usually finishes games strong, averaging 9.7 points in the fourth quarter. On special teams, Arizona State has some playmakers. They average 109.9 return yards per game, 24th in Division I.
Over on the other sideline, the Wildcats head into Week 12 with records of 6-5 for both ATS and SU. The Wildcats went 2-3 SU and 3-2 ATS over the last five games. If Arizona State’s earlier games are any indication, the Wildcats might throw the ball more on offense. The Sun Devils allow 297.8 passing yards per game, 121st in Division I. The Wildcats could take advantage of Arizona State’s reputation to run out of gas late in games. They are 123rd in Division I in fourth-quarter points allowed with 11.5.
Predictions: SU Winner – Arizona State, ATS Winner – Arizona State
Notes
Arizona State is 3-9 ATS in its last 12 games.
Arizona State is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Arizona State’s last 10 games.
Arizona State is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games at home.
Arizona State is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona State’s last 6 games at home.
Arizona State is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Arizona.
Arizona is 5-0 SU when leading at the half this season. Arizona State is 4-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Remarkably, Arizona is only 1-3 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (3-0 SU) when losing the turnover battle.
Arizona is only 1-2 SU this season when allowing at least 3.0 sacks in a game. The Arizona State defense is currently averaging 3.6 sacks over the last five games.
Nationally, the Arizona State passing attack is ranked 28th, while the Arizona pass defense is only ranked 109th. The Wildcats passing game is ranked 34th, compared to the 121st-ranked pass defense of the Sun Devils.
