BIG AL
Kent St
Toledo
Nevada
Alabama
Chris Jordan
SMU
Larry Ness
27* Nevada
Hot Shot Sports
5* Lakers
3* Houston Under
4* Wash St
Jeff Benton
40 Dime ARIZONA STATE
How bad is UCLA right now? Arizona State is nearly a two-touchdown favorite today … despite losing seven of its last nine games. And those two wins for the Sun Devils came against Washington and Washington State, which have a combined record of 6-15 (4-11 in the Pac-10).
Of course, Arizona State’s 24-14 win in Washington looks pretty damn good when compared with UCLA’s effort at Washington eight days ago. The Bruins arrived in Seattle with as a 2½-point road underdog and lost 24-7. It wasn’t just the final score that was disturbing, it was the fact UCLA’s anemic offense produced a grand total of 163 yards with two quarterbacks going a combined 6-for-25 for 55 net passing yards – and this was against a Washington team that (even after the UCLA win) is giving up 33.3 points and 412.3 total yards.
UCLA has lost four of its last five games, including three Pac-10 road losses to Cal, Oregon and Washington by a combined score of 119-27. In those three road contests, the Bruins’ offense generated 144, 290 and 163 total yards while giving up 387, 582 and 321 yards.
Translation: UCLA’s offense is a freaking joke, particular in the passing department (its 114.2 passing ypg is fourth-worst in the worst in the country, trailing only option teams Army, Georgia Tech and Navy), and its quarterbacks have a combined five TD passes against 12 INTs this season. That’s a big deal, because the one weakness Arizona State’s defense has is defending the pass – and there’s NO WAY the Bruins will be able to exploit that weakness.
As for the Sun Devils, they’ve got the most deceiving record in college football. Yes, they’re 4-6, but only twice – a 50-17 loss at Cal; 42-31 home loss to Oregon – have they been blown out. And even in the Oregon game, Arizona State outgained the explosive Ducks 597-405! As for the Sun Devils’ other four losses, get this: 20-19 at Wisconsin; 31-28 at Oregon State, 34-33 at USC; 17-13 vs. Stanford. That’s four losses by a combined nine points to teams that are currently ranked or were previously ranked in the Top 25 (Wisconsin and Stanford are ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, this week).
While Arizona State has lost seven of its last nine games (including those narrow defeats to USC and Stanford the last two weeks), the Sun Devils have gone 5-1-1 ATS (2-0-1 ATS at home). Meanwhile, the Bruins not only have dropped four of five, but they’re 1-5 ATS in their last six (and just 3-7 ATS on the season). Beyond that, Arizona State is on pointspread upticks of 7-1-1 at home, 5-1-2 in conference, 4-0-2 after a SU loss, 14-5 as a double-digit favorite and 20-7 as a double-digit home chalk. Conversely, UCLA is in ATS ruts of 1-4 on the road, 1-5 as a road underdog, 1-7 in Pac-10 games and 11-29-1 against teams with a losing record (and Arizona State, again, is better than its record).
Finally, the home team has covered in four of the last five in this rivalry. That includes Arizona State’s 34-9 rout the last time UCLA trekked to the desert in 2008. You know what happened in that game? The two offenses combined for six field goals … but Arizona State turned three UCLA interceptions and one fumble into FOUR defensive touchdowns, winning by 25 points despite producing only 122 yards of total offense!
With the way UCLA’s offense is going right now, I wouldn’t be the least bit shocked to see Arizona State’s defense cover this pointspread all by itself once again! Either way, the Sun Devils take their frustrations out on an inferior opponent, roll 34-10 and move a step closer to bowl-eligibility.
Rainman
5* Oregon
3* N. Illinois
3* Alabama
1* SMU
1* Boise St
RAS
Virginia Tech -3.5
EXECUTIVE
300% Tulsa-3.5
250% West Virginia+2.5
250% SMU-1
SEABASS
300* Ore Over
200* Steam Col
200* Steam Nevada
100* Alabama
100* West Vir Under
100* Kent St
SCORE
400%* Missouri
Jimmy Boyd
5* Denver Nuggets -3.5
Special K
10* Alabama -3.5
Helmut
Wisconsin Under 125
UCLA Over 145
Teddy Covers
Akron
Alab/Aub Over
Southern Miss
Chicago Bulls
Rider Broncs
Blazer
3* Nevada
Millionionaire Club
3* Alabama
Joe D
20* SMU
Carolina Sports
5* MSU, Nevada
4* W Mich
3* Toledo, Alabama, Ariz St, Colorado