Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Texas A&M Aggies Odds, College Football Pick

Arizona State ended last season on a 4-1 run on the totals, while Texas A&M played three over results for bettors in its last four games to close last season. So the defenses better be ready when the Sun Devils and Aggies meet for the first time ever on a supposedly neutral field in Houston on Saturday night.

Point spread: Aggies opened as three-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (see line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 31.1-22.8 Sun Devils

Why the Arizona State Sun Devils can cover the spread

Arizona State gets back 16 starters this season from a team that nearly won a second-straight Pac-12 South title last year. The Sun Devils return seven starters on offense, including three along the offensive line, and a senior at quarterback in Mike Bercovici, who's not exactly a newbie after throwing nearly 200 passes last season. Nine starters are also back on defense, including five of last year's top six tacklers.

Head coach Todd Graham has a good thing going in Tempe, and a victory over a quality opponent would certainly help in the grand scheme of things for this season.

Why the Texas A&M Aggies can cover the spread

Texas A&M also returns 16 starters this season, the most it's had in its four seasons under head coach Kevin Sumlin. Eight starters are back on offense, including quarterback Kyle Allen, last year's leading rusher Tra Carson and three along the offensive line. Also, eight starters return on defense, including the entire front line and three-quarters of the secondary.

The Aggies struggled through the second half of last season, with some turbulence at the quarterback position, but did manage to pull off a minor upset over West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl to finish 8-5. This year A&M looks ready to roll right from the start.

Smart pick

Texas A&M figures to own a home-crowd advantage for this game, playing just an hour-and-a-half drive from College Station, but the oddsmakers might have the wrong team favored in this game. ASU went 10-3 last year with just eight returning starters; this year it has double that figure. The Sun Devils might just win this game outright.

Betting trends

The total has gone over in eight of Arizona State's last 12 games on the road.

Texas A&M is 2-7 ATS in its last nine games.

Arizona State is 0-4 SU in its last four games vs. the SEC.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark, all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.