College Football: Arizona State Sun Devils at UCLA Bruins

By BetOnline October 24, 2019

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The Arizona State Sun Devils have lost twice this season but still enter the week in the Top 25. They’re fresh off a 21-3 loss to No. 13 Utah, which is understandable, but a loss to a two-win UCLA will really change the mood in Phoenix. Can the Sun Devils take care of business or will they stumble again?

ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS AT UCLA BRUINS
CFB ODDS: ARIZONA STATE -4
CFB TOTAL: 55.5

WHY THE SUN DEVILS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Sun Devils have been the significantly better team this season. First off, UCLA just won by 18 points but it defeated a Stanford team which was with its fourth-string quarterback. Their only other win on the year was the 67-63 stunner at Washington State. Outside of that, they’ve lost games to Cincinnati, San Diego State, Arizona and even Oregon State.

Sure, Arizona State is coming off a loss where they got whacked by Utah, but Utah plays great defense at home and is very hard to beat in Salt Lake City. The Utes are currently ranked No. 12 in the country. ASU simply ran into a very good team.

Arizona State hasn’t been elite this year but they have impressed. They’ve beaten the teams they should have beaten and outside of a three-point loss at home to Colorado, have put together a very successful season. Freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels has a passer rating of 141.6 as he’s done a great job of avoiding mistakes and making key throws when the team has needed him most. Running back Eno Benjamin has been one of the top backs in the country, compiling 633 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

UCLA simply doesn’t have weapons like this and they don’t have the defense that Arizona State has either. Unless the Sun Devils start coughing up turnovers here, this should be a game they win.

WHY THE BRUINS WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The flip side for UCLA here is that while Arizona State is ranked in the Top 25, that might not mean a whole lot. The fact that they’re 5-2 and UCLA is 2-5, yet the Sun Devils are a small favorite here tells the bigger story.

Sure, UCLA is bad but Arizona State just lost to Utah by 18. They lost to Colorado earlier in the year and the Buffalos are bad. Their quality win at Michigan State came on a last-second field goal miss by the Spartans, which enabled Arizona State to win, 10-7. And while they beat Cal, remember that the Golden Bears lost quarterback Chase Garbers in that game. This team has mostly beaten up on weaker opponents.

UCLA’s win over Stanford doesn’t mean a whole lot but it should bring them confidence. They ran the ball for 263 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and if they can at least run the ball successfully this week and bring some balance to the offense, they could spring an upset.

TAKING A LOOK AT THE TOTAL

The Sun Devils will score plenty since they are not facing Utah. Jayden Daniels has been very good against Pac-12 teams other than Utah. UCLA will not be able to keep up in what should be a high-scoring game poised to go over the number.