No. 19 Fresno State Bulldogs (-5) are coming into the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl as favorites as they prepare to battle the Arizona State Sun Devils. ABC has the TV rights and the game is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Betting Preview: Fresno State Bulldogs vs. Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State is playing the role of underdog and is currently getting 5 points in this Saturday matchup. If they are wanting to play the moneyline, bettors would currently have to put up $200 in order to net $100 back on the Bulldogs (-200). The Sun Devils are getting +170 moneyline odds. This matchup should provide several decent in-game betting opportunities, and Vegas has placed the over/under (O/U) at 51.5 points.
The sharp action has been siding with both the Bulldogs and the under. The line originally opened at -4 and the over/under was placed initially at 52.5.
Both of these teams have been profitable this season as the Bulldogs have gained 4.7 units while the Sun Devils are ahead 2.2 units.
The Bulldogs are 11-2 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Sun Devils are 7-5 SU.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 19-16 victory over Boise State on December 1. Marcus McMaryion completed 20 passes for just 170 yards and one touchdown. Ronnie Rivers (63 rushing yards on 17 attempts, one TD) led the ground attack in the win. KeeSean Johnson (six receptions, 40 yards) and Jared Rice (five catches, 44 yards) shared the receiving duties.
Arizona State just earned a 41-40 win over Arizona. The defense let the Wildcats rush for 238 yards on 44 attempts, along with one rushing TD. J.J. Taylor had a good outing in the defeat for Arizona, recording 144 rushing yards on 28 attempts. For Arizona State, Manny Wilkins completed 18-of-31 passes for 265 yards and one touchdown. Eno Benjamin (80 rushing yards on 21 attempts, three TDs) and the signal-caller Wilkins (57 yards on nine carries, one TD) mounted the ground attack in the win as Brandon Aiyuk (five receptions, 106 yards, one TD) and N’Keal Harry (four catches, 55 yards) led the pass-catching attack.
Fresno State has run the ball on 53.1 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Arizona State has a rush percentage of 55.9 percent. The Bulldogs have produced 146.2 rush yards per game and have 28 scores via handoffs this year. The Sun Devils are averaging 185.7 rushing yards per game and have 25 total rush TDs.
The Bulldogs offense has tallied 274.2 yards per contest through the air overall and has 26 passing TDs so far. The Sun Devils have recorded 241.3 pass yards per game and have 19 total pass scores.
Fresno State seems to have an advantage in both areas of the defense. The team’s allowed opponents to run for an average of 129.8 yards and pass for 194.1 yards per game. The Arizona State defense has allowed 238.7 yards per game to opposing passers and 163.1 yards per game on the ground. The Bulldogs are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 4.38 to opposing QBs, while the Sun Devils have given up a 6.43 ANY/A.
Offensively, McMaryion is up to 3,136 passing yards this year. He’s completed 258-of-369 attempts with 23 passing scores and only three interceptions. He’s got a sparkling 8.91 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 8.59 over the last two outings.
On the other sideline, Manny Wilkins has managed to complete 213-of-330 passes for 2,714 yards, 17 TDs and four INTs. Wilkins’ ANY/A sits at 8.26 for the year and 7.18 over his last two games.
Fresno State Bulldogs at Arizona State Sun Devils Betting Pick
SU Winner: Fresno State, ATS Winner: Fresno State, O/U: Over
Betting Trends
- The Bulldogs offense has produced nine pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Sun Devils have put up 10 such plays.
- The Fresno State defense has allowed nine pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Arizona State has given up five such plays.
- The Fresno State offense has created 14 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while Arizona State has created 18 such runs.
- The Bulldogs defense has allowed four rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while the Sun Devils have given up 15 such runs.
- The Arizona State defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 29 times this season. Fresno State has recorded just 23 sacks.
- Fresno State, as a team, has averaged 3.9 yards per rush attempt over its last three games and 4.6 over its last two.
- Arizona State has averaged 4.3 yards per carry over its last three contests and 3.9 over its last two.
- Fresno State has won 11 of its last 12 games SU, with a November 9th defeat to Boise State accounting for the only loss over that span.
- Arizona State has won five of its last six games SU, with a -2-point loss to Oregon on November 17th accounting for the only defeat over that stretch.
