The Duke Blue Devils (9-3) and the No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils (9-3) are slated to battle it out in the Hyundai Sun Bowl on Saturday, with an opportunity for two once-promising teams to get back on track, Arizona State and Duke both have a lot on the line this week. Having both suffered some tough losses in recent weeks, the Sun Devils and Blue Devils will be hoping that things end differently with this game. The game will begin Saturday at 2:10 p.m. ET and can be seen on CBS.
Arizona State lost to Arizona 42-35 in its last game. Demario Richard had a good game on the ground in the loss, running it 13 times for 68 yards. Jaelen Strong also had a great game with 80 yards and a TD on four receptions. Duke is looking to repeat their game before the bye when they blew out Wake Forest 41-21 in their matchup. Issac Blakeney had a great game for the Blue Devils, hauling in seven balls for 107 yards. Jamison Crowder also had a big day, contributing 102 yards and a TD on eight catches.
The Blue Devils are a nine-point underdog against the Sun Devils and the Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 59 points. Heading into Week 18 of the college football season, the Sun Devils are 9-3 Straight Up (SU) and 6-6 Against The Spread (ATS). In their five most recent matchups, the Sun Devils went 3-2 SU and 2-3 ATS. The Arizona State run defense has played better during the past five games. It has given up 123.6 rush yards per game during that span, compared to the 156.8 season average. In the first quarter, Arizona State is tough as nails, putting up 8.6 points in the first 15 minutes. Expect the pace to pick up when the Arizona State offense takes the field. They rank 16th in Division I for number of plays with 79.8 per game.
In the other locker room, the Blue Devils have 9-3 SU and 7-4-1 ATS records this season. Over their last five games, the Blue Devils have a SU and ATS record of 3-2 for those betting with them. The Duke pass defense has given teams headaches during the past five games. During that time, opponents have gained an average of only 203.2 passing yards against this intimidating unit. The Blue Devils usually get a boost in the second quarter of away games, where they average 11.2 points this year. Duke can really return the ball on the road. The team averages 37 return yards per away game, the 21st-most in the country.
Predictions: SU Winner – ASU, ATS Winner – DUKE, O/U – Under
Notes
Duke is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games.
Arizona State is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Duke’s last 8 games.
Both teams are 7-1 SU when leading at the half this season.
Both teams are 7-1 SU when leading after three quarters.
Duke is only 1-3 SU this season when turning the ball over more than its opponent.
Arizona State is a perfect 4-0 SU in games where it wins the turnover battle, and only 2-3 SU in games where it loses the turnover battle.
Nationally, the Arizona State passing attack is ranked 29th, while the Duke pass defense is only ranked 36th. The Blue Devils passing game is ranked 81st, compared to the 106th-ranked pass defense of the Sun Devils.
The Arizona State rushing attack is ranked 59th in the nation, while the Duke run defense is only ranked 97th. The Blue Devils running game is ranked 47th, compared to the 52nd-ranked rush defense of the Sun Devils.
Duke has given up 24.4 points per game on the road, which is ranked 33rd in the nation. Arizona State has scored 37.3 points per game at home (ranked 29th overall).
