Saturday college football and the Arizona State Sun Devils will take on the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game has a start time of 4:00 pm (Eastern) and be will televised on the Pac-12 Network. Vegas odds have Arizona State listed as 7 point favorites, while the total sits at 64.
Analysis: After rolling to three straight wins the No. 23 Arizona State Sun Devils will attempt to earn a fourth in a row when they visit the upset-minded Utah Utes in this Pac-12 showdown. The Sun Devils routed Washington State in Pullman, 55-21, last Thursday after having posted huge wins over Colorado (54-13) and Washington (53-24) in the two previous weeks. Taylor Kelly has thrown for over 2,500 yards, with 23 TDs, while completing an impressive 62.9% of his passes. Kelly also has produced on the ground with 315 yards rushing and 5 Tds. MarGrice leads the country in total touchdowns with 18 (12 rushing, six receiving), but for the first time this season he did not manage a score in the win over Washington State. Overall SU is 10th in the nation in total offense (515.5 ypg) and 6th in scoring (46.6 ppg) The Sun Devils aren't just an impressive offensive squad though. Arizona State is currently behind only USC among Pac-12 teams in total defense (343.4 ypg), giving up an average of 26 points per game.
The Utes won't be intimidated by playing a ranked team on their home field. After all they did take down a top-10 Stanford squad, 27-21, here earlier in the season. However, since that victory the Utes have dropped back-to-back games, both on the road, with the most recent loss, a 19-3 setback against USC. Utah was absolutely dominated by the Trojans' defense as it had just 201 yards of total offense in the losing effort. Inconsistent play at the QB spot has hurt the Utes at times this year. Travis Wilson has started in all eight games, but has been intercepted 14 times, which is the same number of touchdown passes he has. In terms of pass-catchers, Poole (28 receptions, 227 yards) has really made his mark this year as he is second on the team in receptions. Against USC, Utah did show some promise on the defensive side, holding the Trojans to just 19 points and 260 yards of total offense. It was an impressive showing for a team that is allowing 35.8 points and 393.4 yards per game on average. Utah does create pressure, tied with Stanford for second in the Pac-12 in sacks (27).
Pick: I like the Under in this game. The Sun Devils can Score, but the Utes have been pretty tough defensively at home. The Ute offense is not all that explosive and Wilson makes to many mistakes to think they can score a ton on a solid ASU defense. This one should be played in the 50's at best.
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