The Arizona State Sun Devils are coming off their second double-digit loss to a ranked opponent this season. It will be interesting to see if they are able to bounce back this week in order to remain in contention for a bowl game. Arizona State will host the Colorado Buffaloes in a key Pac-12 showdown for a pair of teams that have taken different paths to Week 10. Colorado followed up a 28-0 shutout loss at Washington State with a 44-28 win over Cal at home last week to improve to 5-4 on the season. Meanwhile, Arizona State is coming off its worst loss of the season to fall to 4-4 following a 48-17 blowout defeat at the hands of USC at home. The loss really stung as it seemed like the program had some momentum. Instead, they were throttled and head coach Todd Graham is back on the hot seat/chopping block.
The Sun devils are listed as a three-point favorite at home so it will be interesting to see if they are able to bounce back with a win this week.
Details
Odds: Arizona State -3
Date & Time: Saturday November 4th, 2017 – 9:00 PM ET
Location: Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Broadcast: Pac-12 Network
Reasons To Bet On The Colorado Buffaloes
One week after he was benched in a 28-0 loss to Washington State, Buffaloes quarterback Steven Montez bounced back with an outstanding effort in a win over Cal. Montez threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns for a 938 QB rating in the big win at home. Montez wasn’t the only one that stepped up for the Colorado offense either as running back Phillip Lindsay exploded for 161 yards on the ground. The Buffaloes offense is difficult to slow down when they are firing on all cylinders the way that they were against the Golden Bears so if they play at that level this week they should at the very least be able to keep this game close. The Buffaloes defense ranks in the top-60 in the nation with an average of 25.0 points allowed per game. It will be interesting to see how they fare against an Arizona State offense that is averaging around the same mark with 27.9 points per game this season.
Reasons To Bet On The Arizona State Sun Devils
The Sun Devils had no answer for the USC offense defensively last week. Arizona State was torched for 341 rushing yards and 48 points. The Sun Devils can’t be as bad as they were defensively last week and after getting embarrassed it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them bounce back with a much better effort. Meanwhile, the Arizona State offense will also have to hold its own after being limited to a single score against the Trojans. Junior quarterback Manny Wilkins threw for 259 yards and a touchdown but needs to be much more efficient after completing just 17-of-29 pass attempts. Meanwhile, running back Demario Richard did his part with 70 rushing yards on 15 attempts but was limited by the fact that the Sun Devils couldn’t afford to run the ball after falling behind early on. Look for Arizona State to try to get Richard involved early on this week in order to control the time of possession and keep the ball away from the Colorado offense.
Outlook
The Sun Devils opened up as a five-point dog in this spot but most of the early action has been on Colorado. We know see the line sitting at +3. As far as the total goes, we haven’t seen much movement. It opened up at 57.5 and has moved up to 58.5 and back to 57.5 multiple times, before settling at 58.5.
While Arizona State should bounce back with a better effort this week, it’s difficult to trust them to cover the three points against a hungry and talented Colorado team. The Buffaloes are coming off a big win and will be looking to make a statement on the road this week. Even if the Sun Devils bounce back with a much better effort at home they will be in tough to cover the number as three-point favorites on Saturday night.
Pick: Colorado +3
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