Arizona State Sun Devils(5-2SU,4-3ATS) @Washington State Cougars(4-4SU,6-2ATS)
College Football Week10
Date and Time:October 31, 2013 10:30 p.m. EST.
Where:Martin Stadium, Pullman, WA.
TV:CBS
byWilson,Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread:ASU -12.5/WSU +12.5
Over/Under Total:OFF
The Washington State Cougars are coming off of a much needed bye week after losing at No. 3 Oregon Ducks two weeks ago. The Cougars have already doubled their win total from last season as they currently have 4 Ws and 4 losses. Washington State Head Coach, Mike Leach, has definitely made an impact at WSU; his fast-paced passing attack is a welcomed offensive scheme at what has been nicknamed Quarterback U in the past with previous gun-slinging QBs such as Mark Rypien, Ryan Leaf, and Drew Bledsoe to name a few. The nemesis for the Cougars unfortunately is their current starting QBConnor HallidayHalliday has proven time and again that he can be brilliant but more than that he has proven he can be flat-out awful especially down the stretch when the game is at a tipping point. Halliday has struggled with turnovers (he leads the Pac-12 in INTs; I think he has 7 thousand in two weeks). Okay, maybe Im embellishing the numbers but if youre betting the second half take the opponents defense or just side bet with a buddy that Halliday will toss at least 3 picks. Im not going to totally put it all on Halliday as it is a team sport; there may be missed routes by receivers or miscommunication of sorts but either way it is always the QB who gets the heatsorry man. On a positive note, Halliday is a hell of a passer and when hes on hes deadly accurate; he just needs to play well the entire game, every snap, and gosh darnit, dont force a pass if its not there brother.
Defensively, the Cougs are average against the rest of the Pac 12 unless you take a look at the Stanford, Oregon State, and Oregon game films! Yes, the Cougs D is not the best but they are especially hurting against the pass. The Cougar secondary continues to get beat for big-yardage plays and TDs. The defensive line gets blown out of the trenches too often and teams have easily established their balanced attack. The Cougs have improved albeit in baby-steps. They are a young feisty group who can play with any team for a half and sometimes 3 quarters but they rarely show up in the 4thwhen it matters most. Perhaps a week off has helped the Cougs work out some trouble areas, and playing at home never hurts, usually.
The Arizona State Sun Devils were ranked No. 25 at one point this season but have sense fallen off the chart although they are a good football team. WSU lost at ASU last season 46-7. ASU has scored 107 points in their last two games (53-24 win vs. UW and 54-13 win vs. Colorado). The Sun Devils can score and obviously have a high-powered offensive attack. Heres the big difference in this gameQBsASU quarterback Taylor Kelly has the same amount of TDs as WSUs Halliday with 18 each, but the crucial difference is turnovers among these QBs; Taylor has 7 INTs on the season compared to Hallidays 17! Taylor Kelly is a bit more mobile than Halliday as he rushed for 83 yards against the UW Huskies two weeks ago and was 26 of 42 passing for 271 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. On the other side, Hallidays last outing at Oregon was record setting as he was 58 of 89 for 557 yards, 4 TDs, and 4 INTs.
The Cougs will have their hands full on Halloween night in Pullman when the Sun Devils come to town (Kind of ironic the Devils will visit on Halloween night). Although ASU is the better team they have a few potential hurdles to overcome: the rowdy Cougar faithful, forecasted cold weather, and the fact they are 0-2 on the road this season. I like the Cougs to stay close early as usual but they cant finish off the Sun Devils. Between Hallidays tendency to throw picks late and the Cougs D giving up a ton of points (114 in their last two contests) they have little chance of knocking off the Sun Devils for their 5thwin.Take the Sun Devils minus the points.
WilsonsPick to Cover the Point Spread:Sun Devils cover. Luck to ya
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