It will be Pac-12 versus Mountain West at the 27th installment of the Mitsubishi Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday 12/15/18 at the Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada when the Arizona State Sun Devils collide with the Fresno State Bulldogs.
This is the second bowl game for the Sun Devils and the third Las Vegas bowl for the Bulldogs. Arizona State heads to Vegas 4-1 in their last 5 games played while Fresno State enters this game with a three game win streak and an 11-2 record.
There were a lot of doubters when Arizona State courted Herm Edwards from his job at ESPN to coach the Sun Devils. Edwards had not coached in the NCAA for 30 years and his team was picked to finish last in the Pac-12 South but Edwards led the Sun Devils to second place with a 7-5 overall record.
Manny Wilkins has completed 63% of his passes for 2,896 yards with 19 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. But the focus of the game will be running back Eno Benjamin who is 42 yards shy of breaking the school’s 46 year single season rushing record of 1,565 yards owned by Woody Green.
The Fresno State Bulldogs are looking for a record themselves. The Bulldogs earned the right to play in the Las Vegas Bowl with a thrilling 19-16 overtime win over Boise State last December 1. With the win, Fresno State has the opportunity to win 12 games in a single season for the first time ever in school history.
Marcus McMaryion took the Fresno State program from one win in 2016 to 10 wins the following season. This year, McMaryion had an even better season, throwing for a total of 25 touchdowns with only three interceptions while completing 69.9% of his passes. The Bulldogs though are more known for their defense which allowed the second fewest points in the nation at 13.7 points per game.
Arizona State is 4-1 SU in their last 5 games played. Fresno State is 10-1 SU in their last 11 games played. This is the first time since 1941 that these two teams will be playing each other. The Sun Devils are 3-0 all-time against the Bulldogs.
The main thing here is the absence of the Sun Devils’ top receiver N’Keal Harry who will skip the game and is already looking ahead at playing in the NFL. Without Harry, Arizona State will have to go to their running game to produce points. However, with Fresno State owning a top rated defense who allowed just a total of seven rushing touchdowns all-season long, it’s hard to imagine Arizona State having enough success on the ground to outscored the Bulldogs’ offense.
The absence of Arizona State’s top aerial option and Fresno State’s solid ground defense is going to produce a win for the Bulldogs. We’re picking Fresno State to beat Arizona State on 12/15/18.
The Sun Devils are 2-7 ATS in their last nine bowl games played and are also 0-4 in their last four December games played. Arizona State is 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against MWC rivals. They are also 1-5 in their last six games at a neutral venue. On the other hand, Fresno State is 1-6 ATS in their last seven bowl games, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games played in the month of December and 8-2 ATS in their last 10 non-conference games played.
The Bulldogs are 14-4 ATS in their last 18 games played. No question, Arizona State has the capability to grind out a win here as they’ve covered their last five games as underdogs of three points or more. But the Fresno State defense should be the key here as it should stop the Arizona State offense well enough to cover the spread. Prediction: Fresno State +4.5
The over is 4-1 in the last five non-conference games of Arizona State. The total has gone under in 22 out of the last 30 overall games for Fresno State. The Bulldogs finished their season with five straight games that had an averaged combined score of 41.6 points per game. Fresno State allowed the second fewest points per game in college football this season. Prediction: Under 53.5
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
