Arizona State Football: Breaking Down the Vegas Odds on Every Game

We are approaching the one-month countdown until the kickoff of Arizona State Football. With a new coach aboard it will important to get off to a nice start. The Sun Devils open up with Northern Arizona University on August 30th.

New head coach Todd Graham, who comes to ASU after leaving the University of Pittsburgh, needs to re-energize Tempe. Many people believed former coach Dennis Erickson would drive the Sun Devils to glory, but after just one shared conference title he was fired.

Many people don’t know what to expect from Arizona State this year. With not much buzz coming out of Tempe, ASU has the chance to be one of the more surprising teams in the nation.

Here is what Vegas thinks about every game on the schedule along with a little analysis of the spread.

*All odds are from Beyondthebets.com

Week 1: Northern Arizona University at Arizona State University

Odds: Arizona State -27.5

If I had to guess, I would bet that Arizona State wins by more than 27 points. They are a far superior team and should have no problem strutting out onto the field and giving NAU the business.

While ASU is fighting to be the best team in Arizona, they are certainly not worried about Northern Arizona. These types of games are incredibly boring and hard to watch, NAU will show up and know that they are going to get beat and probably show little fight. Todd Graham and his team will start the season off with a win. 

Week 2: Illinois at Arizona State

Odds: Push

The Sun Devils will have their first test of the season when the University of Illinois comes to Tempe. It should be a very good game but I would be surprised if the Sun Devils don’t come out on top. They should be coming in with a ton of confidence after the pounding that they will give to Northern Arizona.

The crowd should give Illinois trouble all game and, while I don’t believe that the Sun Devils will win in convincing fashion, I suspect somewhere between a seven and ten point victory for ASU. 

Week 3: Arizona State at Missouri

Odds: Arizona State +16.5 

This will be an incredibly tough game for the Sun Devils. If this game were at home the point spread would be much closer, but traveling to Missouri is a daunting test for a young ASU team.  At this point of the year the Sun Devils will still be trying to work out the kinks of adjusting to a new coach and a new quarterback. Running back Cameron Marshall will have to carry the Sun Devils but as talented as Marshall is it won't be enough.

I expect the loss to be a little under the spread but still a blow to the Sun Devils. 

Week 4: Utah at Arizona State

Odds: Arizona State +7.5

Another tough game for the Sun Devils as they open their Pac-12 play. Utah should be a much-improved squad this year with the return of their quarterback, Jordan Wynn, who missed time with injuries last year. The Sun Devils are also going to have to figure out how to stop the explosive Utah running game.

This will be an excellent game for a football fan to watch but quite nerve-wracking for an ASU fan. I suspect that ASU comes up just short, most likely by a field goal. This will leave the Sun Devils reeling after a 2-0 start. 

Week 5: Arizona State at California

Odds: Arizona State +14

Another spread against the Sun Devils who will travel to Berkeley looking to get back on track after losses to Illinois and Utah. Cal is a similar program to ASU as not much is expected from them but they still have the athletes to shock some teams. This will be a pivotal Pac-12 North game for both of these teams and it should come down to the fourth quarter.

Arizona State will need to ride Cameron Marshall in this game if they want to stay within striking distance but once again it won’t be enough. The Sun Devils should lose this game by less than the spread, probably around a ten-point loss.

Week 7: Arizona State at Colorado

Odds: Arizona State +1.5 

I disagree with this spread. I believe that after three straight losses, Arizona State will be desperate and at this point will travel to Colorado and beat the University of Colorado.  There is no way that Arizona State will lose four in a row and they have the luxury of traveling to Colorado who is not a tough matchup.

Colorado is not a team that scares you on paper or on film but they do have the ability to be dangerous. By this time Arizona State will hopefully be able to open up their offense and really spread the ball around the field.  If they are able to turn their one-dimensional offense into a two-dimensional one, the Sun Devils will win this game by a touchdown, maybe two. 

Week 8: Oregon at Arizona State

Odds: Arizona State +21.5 

This will be a rough game for the Sun Devils. The Oregon Ducks aren’t only one of the best teams in Pac-12, they are one of the best teams in the nation. They possess way too much speed for Arizona State to keep this game within reach. Arizona State will have their hands full all night trying to contain the Ducks offense to no avail. This spread will probably be pretty close to the outcome of the game. Tough night for the Sun Devils. 

Week 9: UCLA at Arizona State

Odds: Arizona State +2.5

Another nail-biter for the Sun Devils in Week 9 against the Bruins. It will be interesting to see how the Jim Mora-led Bruins will do in their first year together, but they should be a team that the Sun Devils are able to beat.

In Week 9, it is unknown what type of injury problems the team will be dealing with but, despite a solid recruiting class for Mora, ASU should be able to beat them at home. In an evenly matched Pac-12 game, the game is usually won by the home team and that is why the Sun Devils will come out on top against UCLA. 

Week 10: Arizona State at Oregon State

Odds: Arizona State +6.5 

Playing at Oregon State is why the spread is against Arizona State in their Week 10 matchup. Reser Stadium is one of the hardest places to play in the Pac-12, and in a close game it almost always goes Oregon State’s way. This week will be no different as the Beavers are more talented than people recognize. Partly because of how good the University of Oregon is, Oregon State is stuck in the Ducks' shadow.

Arizona State is going to have to grind this game out, they are going to need to win the turnover battle and make sure they move the chains on third down. If they do this it will be tight, but I don’t expect ASU to pull this game out.

Week 11: Arizona State at USC

Odds: Arizona State +28.5 

This will be a game very similar to the University of Oregon game. The Sun Devils will likely fall behind early and it will be an extremely tough to mount a comeback against USC. The Trojans are one the most talented teams in the nation and when they play at home they are extremely hard to beat. 

Matt Barkley will be able to pick apart the ASU secondary, who are in for an extremely long night trying to defend Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. I don’t expect USC to outscore the spread but it should be somewhere around a 21 point beating by the Trojans.

Week 12: Washington State at Arizona State

Odds: Arizona State +1.5

This is another game where I disagree with the spread. There is no way that a Washington State team will come to Tempe and beat the Sun Devils. The only way this will happen is if ASU has mailed it in after a disappointing season. Washington State is no longer the joke that they have been the last couple of years, but I would be very surprised if they made the trip to Arizona State and beat the Sun Devils. If this does happen, Todd Graham might not make it to see his second year at ASU. 

Week 13: Arizona State at University of Arizona

Odds: Arizona State +4

The desert duel will feature two teams who are finishing a transition year. The Arizona Wildcats hired Rich Rodriguez, who is a great hire, but it will take some time to get the right type of players to get the Wildcat program up and running. Both of these teams will not be competing for anything at this point other than pride.

In a rivalry game, I expect both teams to come out hungry and finish the season on a high note and that is exactly what Arizona State will do. They may not be the favorite and are on the road, but they will physically outmatch the weaker Wildcats. It is the close to a rough season for the Sun Devils but they will end it on a solid note with a win over their biggest rival.