The Washington State Cougars and the Arizona State Sun Devils meet in Tempe at Sun Devil Stadium to compete in a PAC-12 conference match-up. The game is scheduled to get underway on Saturday, October 22nd at 10:00 p.m. ET and will be shown on the PAC-12 Network. As of now, the Cougars are -7.5 favorites and the contest’s total is 64.5.
In last years game, Washington State almost put up 40 points against Arizona State’s defense and went on to a 38-24 victory. The contest took place on the Cougar’s home turf in Pullman, Washington.
Washington State (4-2):
The Cougars got off to a rough start this year, losing their first two games of the 2016 season. Instead of packing it in, Mike Leach and Washington State dug in and won their next four contests. In those wins, the Cougars beat the likes of Oregon, Stanford and the UCLA Bruins.
A huge reason for Washington State’s success has been the performance of their quarterback Luke Falk. Mike Leach’s offense is pass heavy, and Falk is showing that he can put up some big numbers while given the opportunity to do so. In 2016, he has completed over 200 passes for 2,113 yards with 16 touchdowns and only five interceptions.
Washington State will run the football, they just choose to do it to keep the opposing team’s defense honest. Three backs rush the ball out of the back field and all three are finding success with the back-half of the defense in pass protection. Altogether, they have collected over 800 yards on almost 150 carries and have crossed the goal line 15 different times.
Spreading the ball around is an understatement for quarterback Luke Falk. Eight different wide-outs have over 15 catches. As a result, seven of them have caught passes in the back of the end zone. Gabe Marks leads the way with 40 catches and six scores.
I have to admit I was kind of shocked that the Cougars are 12th in the nation against the run, allowing only 104 yards a game. I wasn’t so shocked that they are 111th in the country against the pass, giving way to a gaudy 278 yards a contest. Combine the two, and you get the 54th best defense in college football.
Arizona State (5-2):
The Sun Devils also have changed their programs direction just six games into their college football campaign. Unfortunately, it’s in the wrong direction. Arizona State won their first four games in 2016 but since have dropped two of their last three.
Both losses came on the road, including last week’s dismal performance against the Colorado Buffalo. In that game, Arizona State was held to 199 total yards and were taken to the woodshed to the tune of 40-16.
Quarterback Manny Wilkins stepped back into the driver’s seat last week, after missing a game due to injury. To be 100 percent honest, it wasn’t pretty. Williams only completed 13 of 35 passes for a measly 149 yards and one touchdown and one pick. On the season, he has 1,382 yards with six touchdown tosses and five picks.
Unlike Washington State, the Sun Devils prefer to tote the rock via the ground. In this run first offense, three backs see plenty of carries. Combined, they have racked-up over 1,300 yards on 262 carries and have 15 touchdowns to show for it. Kalen Ballage has nine of those scores to himself, but seven came in one contest in the second game of the year.
Four receivers catch balls from their quarterback, but only one of them has been rewarded for it. Tim White has 525 yards receiving, which is twice as much as any other Arizona State wide-out. His three touchdowns which also leads the Sun Devil’s receiving corps.
Houston, we have a problem. The Arizona State Sun Devil’s pass defense is atrocious. Currently, they rank 128th in the nation allowing a whopping 384 yards a game. That’s bad news when a pass happy Mike Leach squad rolls into town. On the bright side, they do stop the run. Arizona State sits 21st in the country, yielding 121 yards a match.
Trend and Notes:
The Cougars are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games overall.
The Sun Devils are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 home games.
The Over is 7-3 in the Cougars last 10 road games.
The Under is 5-2 in the Sun Devils last 7 games following a straight up loss.
The Favorite is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings.
Game Prediction:
The Sun Devils won’t have any chance to win this game if their quarterback Manny Wilkins doesn’t perform better. The Cougars a susceptible against the pass and Wilkins needs to deliver accurate balls to open up the running game.
Washington State comes in to this match-up confident and on quite a roll. Staring the porous Sun Devil passing defense in the eye can only help build upon all of that momentum.
Fortunately for Arizona State, they do play considerably better in the confines of Sun Devil Stadium. That should give them some confidence back after the shellacking they took in Colorado last week. Washington State’s only two losses have been by a combined six points, and their win in Stanford was rather impressive.
Over here at Get More Sports, we would rather put our pick on two teams that should move the ball on each other, rather than going against another home dog in their own backyard.
That being said, the Cougars should win this game over the four quarters played. If so, let it be, but we prefer the fact that both teams should produce on the scoreboard. Take the over 64.5 and enjoy a PAC-12 late game before the lights go out.
