The UCLA Bruins (+13) are making a trip east to take on their conference nemesis Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium, Frank Kush Field. This Saturday daytime matchup is scheduled to get underway at 2:00 p.m. ET and Pac-12 Networks will broadcast the action.
UCLA Bruins at Arizona State Sun Devils Betting Preview
In this Saturday Pac-12 matchup, Arizona State is projected as the heavy favorite and is currently giving up 13 points. The Bruins are also receiving +360 moneyline odds while the Sun Devils are -525. There might be some good live betting opportunities for this game, and Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 58.5 points.
The early action has shifted toward the Sun Devils. The opening line was -12, while the game’s O/U has yet to change after it was set initially at 58.5.
The less-than-stellar Bruins are 3-6 against the spread (ATS) and are down 8.2 units so far. The team’s posted an O/U record of 4-5. The Sun Devils have gained 1.2 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 6-3 ATS and have an O/U record of 5-4.
The Bruins have gone 2-7 straight up (SU), including 2-4 SU against Pac-12 opponents. The Sun Devils are 5-4 SU overall and are also 3-3 SU in conference play.
Arizona State enters this one on a two-game losing streak while UCLA has come out on top in its last two in a row. The Bruins are most-recently reeling from a 42-21 defeat to Oregon last week. the Bruins completed 23-of-49 passes for 297 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Wilton Speight went 13-for-25 for 147 yards and one touchdown while Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed nine-of-23 for 135 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. Joshua Kelley (161 yards on 26 rush attempts, one TD) spearheaded the ground attack in the loss while Kelley (six receptions, 32 yards) and Theo Howard (five catches, 69 yards, one TD) shared the receiving duties.
The Arizona State Sun Devils just earned a lopsided 38-20 win over Utah. The team’s defense allowed the Utes to rush for 178 yards on 32 attempts, along with one rushing TD. Zack Moss was a bright spot in the defeat, posting 128 rushing yards and a score on 18 attempts for Utah. For Arizona State, Manny Wilkins completed 19-of-24 passes for 285 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Eno Benjamin (175 rushing yards on 27 attempts, two TDs) and Isaiah Floyd (35 yards on 10 carries) spearheaded the ground game in the win while N’Keal Harry (nine receptions, 161 yards, three TDs) and Brandon Aiyuk (six catches, 101 yards) led the pass-catching corps.
Each of these teams has a similar run-pass ratio on the season. UCLA’s run the ball on 52.7 percent of its offensive possessions while Arizona State has a rush percentage of 54.2. The Bruins have run for 153 yards per game (including 165 per game against Pac-12 opponents) and have 12 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Sun Devils are averaging 185 rushing yards per game (221 in conference) and have 17 total rush TDs.
It appears that the Sun Devils might hold an advantage in terms of effectiveness in the ground game. Their backfield has produced 5.0 yards per carry while the defense has allowed a YPC of 3.9 to opponents. The Bruins have ran for 4.1 yards per carry while allowing a YPC of 4.6 to opponents.
The Bruins offense has logged 210 yards/game in the air overall (220 per game against conference opposition) and has 10 passing TDs so far. The Sun Devils have put up 250 pass yards per contest (215.3 in the Pac-12) and have 15 total pass scores.
On the defensive side of the ball, UCLA has allowed 208 rush yards and 230 pass yards per game. The Arizona State defense has given up 220.6 yards per game to opposing passers and 158.7 yards per game to opposing runners. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to opponents, as the Bruins have given up an ANY/A of 6.52 to opposing QBs, while the Sun Devils are yielding an ANY/A of 6.15.
Passing-wise, Speight has amassed 396 yards this year. The signal-caller has completed 38-of-64 attempts with three passing scores and one interception. He’s got a 5.90 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 3.50 over the past two games.
We expect the UCLA offense to mix it up in this one. Joshua Kelley (730 rushing yards, six rush TDs, 151 receiving yards on the year), Caleb Wilson (492 receiving yards, two receiving TDs) and Theo Howard (440 receiving yards, three TDs) have each played key roles of late.
Manny Wilkins has managed to complete 165-of-255 passes for 2,084 yards, 14 TDs and three INTs for Arizona State. His ANY/A stands at 8.23 for the year and 10.57 over his last two outings.
Eno Benjamin, N’Keal Harry and Brandon Aiyuk have combined to account for 745 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns as a trio over the last two games.
When these two squads faced one another a year ago, UCLA won by a touchdown 44-37.
Betting Prediction: UCLA Bruins vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
SU Winner – Arizona State, ATS Winner – Arizona State, O/U – Under
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Notes
The Arizona State defense has sacked opposing QBs 24 times this year. UCLA has recorded just 13 sacks.
Arizona State has lost three fumbles in 2018 while the UCLA offense has let six get away.
The Bruins offense has tallied six pass plays of 40 yards or more, while the Sun Devils have accounted for nine such plays.
The UCLA defense has allowed eight pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Arizona State has given up three such plays.
The UCLA offense has created 12 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Arizona State has created 13 such runs.
The Bruins defense has allowed six rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Sun Devils have given up 10 such runs.
The Over/Under for Arizona State’s last matchup was set at 55. The over cashed in the team’s 38-20 triumph over Utah.
In its last three matchups, Arizona State is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
Over its last three games, UCLA is 0-3 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
The O/U for UCLA’s previous game was set at 59. The over cashed in the team’s 42-21 loss to Oregon.
As a team, UCLA has averaged 4.3 yards per carry over its past three contests and 5.1 over its last two.
Arizona State has averaged 5.3 yards per carry over its last three games and 5.7 over its last two.
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