El Paso, Texas will host the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the Arizona State Sun Devils in this year’s version of the Sun Bowl. The contest is going to begin on Friday, December 29th at 3 p.m. EST and can be seen on CBS for some early afternoon action. Heading into this battle, the Wolfpack are currently -6.5 point favorites and the over/under has settled in at 59.5.
The North Carolina State Wolfpack had a brief window of opportunity to get into the College Football Playoffs. To do so they had to topple Notre Dame and the Clemson Tigers. Regrettably, the Wolfpack came up short in both affairs and finished out the year with an 8-4 record. On the bright side, North Carolina State did finish their season winning two of their last three games to make it to the Sun Bowl.
The Arizona State Sun Devils started off slow this season but picked up the pace over the last half of the season. As a result, they went 7-5 and played their way into the post-season. Unfortunately, their record wasn’t enough and head coach Todd Grahm was shown the door. Now, ESPN’s Herm Edwards will take over and actually be coaching for this match-up. He will have some momentum heading into the Sun Bowl because the Sun Devils have won their last two games.
North Carolina State (8-4)
Like the Sun Devils, the Wolfpack also ended their season with two-straight victories. To make it even better, they outscored their in-state rivals the North Carolina Tar Heels, 33-21. Starting quarterback Ryan Finley ended up having a pretty good year. The senior was known for playing mistake-free football and that is exactly what he did. Overall, the game manager completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,196 yards. He also threw 16 endzone strikes and only five interceptions.
Probably the most productive player for the Wolfpack was at the running back spot. Nyheim Hines carried the load out of the backfield for North Carolina State. The Junior toted the rock 181 times for 1,040 and found the back of the end zone 10 times. Teammate Jaylen Samuels might have something to say about being the team’s MVP. He ran the ball for 387 yards and 11 touchdowns and also caught 68 passes for 547 yards and four more.
Wide receiver Kelvin Harmon was Ryan Finley’s go-to guy when moving the ball through the air. The talented pass catcher brought in a team-high 65 balls for just under 1,000 yards and four touchdowns. His partner in crime Jakobi Myers also did okay. He reeled in another 56 passes for 651 yards and also had four touchdowns of his own.
Defensively, the Wolfpack held opponents to 24 points a game in 2017. That figure is good for 50th in the country. The front seven was good against tailbacks, surrendering only 132 yards a match. The problem with this unit rested in the back half. The North Carolina State secondary struggled to cover a soul, allowing 244 yards a game (95th). The group struggled down the stretch with injuries but should be somewhat healthy for the 2017 Sun Bowl.
Arizona State Sun Devils (7-5)
The Arizona State Sun Devils are coming into the Sun Bowl red-hot offensively. Their offense has scored 37 or more points in their last four contest. The Sun Devil’s most recent win came against their in-state rivals, Arizona. In that game, Arizona State had little trouble offensively, racking up 42 points in a 42-30 triumph. Junior quarterback Manny Wilkins didn’t put up eye-popping numbers in the win but did throw for 163 yards and three scores. Overall, he has connected on 63.5 percent of his passes for a little under 3,000 yards with 17 touchdowns and five picks.
Two tailbacks work together to keep the offense explosive in Tempe. Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage pretty much split carries throughout the 2017 season. Williams recorded 977 yards on 185 carries with 12 touchdowns to his credit. Ballage has toted the rock another 153 times for 657 yards and six more scores. Don’t sleep on Manny Wilkins, the nifty quarterback has scrambled for 269 yards and six trips to the promised land.
Basically, two wideouts contributed to keeping defenses honest with the passing game. Together, the duo has combined for just under 1,700 yards and 13 touchdowns. The big-play pass-catcher is N’Keal Harry. Harry had a prosperous year against the PAC-12 defenses, catching 73 balls for 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns. On the other side, teammate Kyle Williams pitched in for another 678 yards and six more end zone appearances.
One can’t really mention Arizona State and defense in the same sentence. The Sun Devil’s defensive crew struggled to stop everybody and were the reason for the 7-5 record. As a whole, the unit finished their regular season ranked 109th in total yards against. They also gave up 31 points a game (88th). The secondary was torched repeatedly, surrendering ridiculous 268 yards a contest (118th).
Prediction
Las Vegas originally posted the spread for this game with the North Carolina State Wolfpack as five-point favorites. The money that has come in on them has pushed that up to 6.5. It’s really hard to argue with that because the Sun Devils defense probably won’t do much to stop the Wolfpack. I believe there is a play here if you can get this in with it still under a touchdown. I believe that North Carolina State has played better teams and should be able to limit Arizona State’s offense enough to get the victory. With that being said, I still think there is a better play on the board for this contest.
Oddsmakers have this total at 59.5. To me, the over here is the play to make. Yes, the Wolfpack sport the better defense of the two but the Sun Devils will get their points. Remember, they’re coming into this affair clicking on offense and have had no trouble putting up points on average teams. I like them to at least get 24-27 in this game. Taking that into consideration, North Carolina State should easily surpass the 30 point mark which should be good enough to hit the total 59.5. Cheer for the offenses and bet the over for the 2017 Hyundai Sun Bowl. @EriktheHun
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Trends
The Wolfpack are 6-2-1 ATS in their last 9 bowl games.
The Over is 5-0 in the Wolfpack last 5 Bowl games.
The Sun Devils are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 bowl games.
The Over is 5-1 in the Sun Devils last 6 bowl games.
