The Arizona State Sun Devils and the Utah Utes meet Saturday in college football action from Rice-Eccles Stadium. Arizona State took on Washington State in their last matchup. The Sun Devils (2-6) went on to bag an 11-point win. As for Utah, they’re fresh off a game versus Oregon back on Saturday. In that one the Utes dropped to 6-2 with a blowout defeat. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.

Arizona State Sun Devils 

Arizona State won just one of their first seven games (24-21 over Southern Utah in the opener), then hit a rough losing streak against some pretty tough teams. The Sun Devils’ offense struggled in those first seven outings, averaging just 17.0 points per game and scoring a tepid 14 touchdowns. The running game was especially stunted with 656 yards and 3.0 yards per carry. 

In last weekend’s game versus Washington State, the Sun Devils managed to score TDs in every quarter along the way to an intense 38-27 victory. Trenton Bourguet managed 274 pass yards but most of the work was done on the ground. Cameron Skattebo (121 yards; TD) and DeCarlos Brooks (67 yards; three TDs) posted the big numbers rushing-wise. 

Arizona State Sun Devils Team Facts

• Arizona State has lost each of its last nine November games as a road underdog.
• Arizona State has covered the spread in five of its last six games as a road underdog.
• Arizona State has won the first half in each of its last three games against conference opponents.
• Four of Arizona State’s last five games as a road underdog have gone UNDER the total points line.

Utah Utes 

Over on the Utes’ side, they had a couple of close finishes earlier this season, but still managed a nice 6-1 result over their first seven games. Utah’s offense fared quite a bit better in that time, averaging 23.4 points per game with 20 total scores against some difficult squads. Utah’s run game fared better in comparison to their passing attack as well, with 11 rushing scores compared to seven from the pass. 

Back on Saturday versus Oregon, the Utes were down 21-6 by halftime and didn’t score in the final two quarters during a rough 35-6 defeat. QB Bryson Barnes finished with 136 yards and two interceptions. Jaylon Glover led the rush with 39 yards and Devaughn Vele caught seven balls for 80 yards. 

Utah Utes Team Facts

• Utah has won each of its last 27 games against non-AP-ranked teams at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
• Utah has covered the spread in seven of its last eight home games against non-AP-ranked teams.
• Utah has won the first half in eight of its last 10 games against conference opponents at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
• Each of Utah’s last five home games in November have gone UNDER the total points line.

Matchup/League Facts

• Utah rank 18th among FBS teams for points allowed per game this season (17.5).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’m probably going to stay with the Utes. Coming off the heels of their big loss on Saturday Utah isn’t exactly riding high. The Utes posted a tepid 241 yards (142 passing) in that one with 3.7 yards per play, 13 first downs and a 5-of-15 rate on third-down tries. That makes 14 or fear points in three of the last five games for Utah, but they shouldn’t have too many issues scoring in this one. 

As for Arizona State, they finally got their run game going against Washington State last weekend and looked pretty good with 509 total yards (235 rushing) in the win. The Sun Devils have been able to stay close to some pretty good teams on the scoreboard lately. That said, with the Utes coming off such an ugly loss I think Utah will gather themselves and cover this weekend in a bounce-back effort.