The good news for the Arizona State Sun Devils is that they are 1-0 on the season. The bad news is that the offense looked really shaky at the start of last week’s game against NAU. This week, the team will be looking to blow off the first-game jitters as the Devils take on the high-scoring Texas Tech Red Raiders in Week 2 of the regular season at home.
The Red Raiders also won their season opener, but in much more impressive fashion. As with the Sun Devils, the victory over Stephen F. Austin was expected, but the offensive performance behind junior quarterback Patrick Mahomes is reason for optimism. This Texas Tech offense could spell trouble for the Sun Devil defense if Arizona State has another lackluster start.
Kickoff for this regular season Week 2 game is set for Saturday, September 10, 2016, at 10 p.m. ET at Sun Devil Stadium.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Texas Tech -3
Arizona State +3
Over/Under 79.5
Odds Analysis
The idea of making Arizona State a slight favorite seemed a bit optimistic, and the bettors agree. The Red Raiders are getting more than 75 percent of the action to cover the spread.
The scoring total is extremely high and yet the “over” is being chosen by 80 percent of gamblers. That’s what happens when Texas Tech’s Air Raid offense is involved.
Matchup to Watch
Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes against the Sun Devil defense. Mahomes is a dual-threat quarterback and he proved it last week with four touchdowns passes and two more rushing touchdowns.
He completed 30-of-43 passing attempts for 483 passing yards and he didn’t even play the final quarter. The Raiders are able to beat up on lesser teams, but the Arizona State defense will be a worthier challenge.
The Sun Devils played very vanilla defensively in their opener, likely saving their exotic blitzes for Texas Tech since the talent advantage over NAU was so big.
Key Player
Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins. Arizona State’s victory over Northern Arizona last week is one of those games where the final score doesn’t tell the whole story. The end result — a 44-13 win — was expected, it just took a lot longer to get there than Sun Devil fans would have hoped.
Still, the offense overcame a sloppy start to turn this one into a blowout by the end, scoring 24 points in the fourth quarter. It was a mixed bag for Wilkins, who won the starting job just one day prior to making his college debut.
Wilkins started slow but finished the night with 180 yards passing He also had 89 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. His favorite target was Tim White, who had nine receptions for 95 yards.
Wilkins beat out Brady White for the quarterback job, but a bad outing could lead to a chance under center. Fortunately, most offenses play well against Texas Tech.
Free ATS Pick
Even though Mahomes only played two-and-a-half quarters last week, Texas Tech still managed 69 points in the victory over Stephen F. Austin. Both teams faced inferior competition, but it was the Red Raiders who looked much better.
While the Sun Devils get this game at home, they looked too sloppy early on against the Lumberjacks and will be hard to believe in. Texas Tech is a slight road underdog but it is the right play in this one.
Not only could the Red Raiders cover the spread, but look for them to pull off the upset. Mahomes could be the next star of that offense and he will be able to put on a show.
Even so, the scoring total is too high and the “under” is the correct play.
College Football Odds: Texas Tech 42, Arizona State 34
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