No. 25 Arizona State vs. Oregon State Pac-12 Matchup Preview and Prediction

This Saturday, we find the No. 25 Arizona State Sun Devils (3-1) taking on the Oregon State Beavers (0-3) in Tempe, AZ.

Arizona State is coming off of a big 43-22 win over the previously ranked No. 23 USC Trojans.

The Sun Devils, even though winning by a large margin, had a closer game then what the box score proved. They held USC to one-for-nine on third down attempts, prevailing when they needed to. They also forced four turnovers on the Matt Barkley led Trojan offense.

The Sun Devils, even though they had less total yardage, seemed pretty much in control of the entire game. The defense shut out the Trojans in the fourth quarter while the ASU offense saw big games from their trio of juniors quarterback Brock Osweiler, running back Cameron Marshall and middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

Coach Dennis Erickson seemed to really have things going the right way for once, as the Sun Devils kept the penalties down and the efficiency up. The main thing that Erickson and the Sun Devils must carry over into Week 5 is the offensive line. They finally showed up, allowing Marshall to have a big game and keeping Osweiler off the ground (only one sack versus six from Week 3).

Oregon State, who has yet to notch a win in their column, didn't have much of a game against UCLA. Oregon State got destroyed 0-35 against Wisconsin in Week 2, and the break didn't seem to do much for them. 

Oregon State put up more yards then UCLA, but the Bruins ground game ultimately demised the Beavers. UCLA put up 211 yards on the ground.

The Beavers have only scored a total of five touchdowns in three games (one passing, three rushing and one on a return), so they don't pose as much of an offensive threat. They are currently ranked at 112 in the FBS for scoring with an average of 15.7 points per game; so don't expect them to do much better against the Sun Devils.

Oregon State hasn't had much to highlight their season thus far, and I don't think things will be changing much this weekend in Arizona.

When Oregon State visits Arizona State this weekend for their Pac-12 matchup, there is one thing the Beavers have to watch out for.

Running back Cameron Marshall.

Against USC, Marshall ran for 141 yards with three touchdowns on 25 attempts. After OSU gave up 211 yards to UCLA, one can only think that Marshall is licking his lips at this weekend's defense.

Marshall was struggling in the early part of the season, but USC must have put all injuries aside and allowed the back to play to level that is expected of him. Hopefully, it was an indication that his injuries are now in the past.

So far this season, Marshall has put up 294 yards for five touchdowns. The majority of this came against USC, but don't expect him to slow down from here on out.

Along with Marshall, Brock Osweiler (eight passing and two rushing touchdowns) has been tearing up teams' secondaries.

Osweiler has been connecting consistently with WR/RB Jamaal Miles and WR Aaron Pflugrad. The duel threat of Osweiler and the coming out of Marshall has made the Sun Devils one dangerous team.

I don't expect the Sun Devils to find the Beavers as much of a threat, but they have to make sure they don't play down to the Beavers' level and lose composure.

If the Sun Devils can keep things together, expect another consistent and big game out of Osweiler, Marshall and the defense. If they do this, the Sun Devils will easily make their move to 4-1 and possibly a higher spot in the rankings.

If Arizona State gets past Oregon State, it sets up a potential huge Pac-12 match up against No. 7 Oregon in Week 7. 

Prediction: ASU 24 OSU 3