Saturday night in Tempe brings together two teams trying to recover from disappointing losses. Arizona State finishes its nonconference schedule at home, while Hawai‘i arrives looking to turn productive possessions into points. I’m taking Hawai‘i’s points because its passing game gives it a workable way to stay within this number. Micah Alejado threw for 341 yards against San José State, with Devin Alves contributing 121 receiving yards. My read is that Hawai‘i can generate enough scoring chances through the air to keep Arizona State from pulling comfortably away. Lyrik Rawls’ absence adds a new challenge for the Sun Devils’ secondary because their previous defensive results all included him. Arizona State has a convincing offensive weapon in Reed Harris, whose 499 receiving yards include substantial production against FBS opponents. Hawai‘i must limit those damaging completions. Marcus Arroyo’s return to play calling also gives ASU a chance to improve its offensive execution. The concern with laying this spread is how Arizona State sustains that separation. Its scoring totals against FBS opponents are 20, 24 and 19, and the Kansas victory included two non-offensive touchdowns. Its rushing average against those opponents was 3.4 yards per carry. I expect Hawai‘i to make ASU work through possessions rather than consistently give it an easy route to touchdowns. Hawai‘i’s finishing problems are the biggest threat to this ticket. It scored just three first-half points over its last two games and committed 12 penalties against San José State. Those mistakes can waste the passing production that makes the cover possible. I expect enough productive possessions to become points tonight, while ASU’s uneven offense makes sustaining a margin beyond 20.5 demanding. That combination makes Hawai‘i +20.5 at -104 my best ticket.
Saturday night in Tempe brings together two teams trying to recover from disappointing losses. Arizona State finishes its nonconference schedule at home, while Hawai‘i arrives looking to turn productive possessions into points.
I’m taking Hawai‘i’s points because its passing game gives it a workable way to stay within this number. Micah Alejado threw for 341 yards against San José State, with Devin Alves contributing 121 receiving yards. My read is that Hawai‘i can generate enough scoring chances through the air to keep Arizona State from pulling comfortably away. Lyrik Rawls’ absence adds a new challenge for the Sun Devils’ secondary because their previous defensive results all included him.
Arizona State has a convincing offensive weapon in Reed Harris, whose 499 receiving yards include substantial production against FBS opponents. Hawai‘i must limit those damaging completions. Marcus Arroyo’s return to play calling also gives ASU a chance to improve its offensive execution.
The concern with laying this spread is how Arizona State sustains that separation. Its scoring totals against FBS opponents are 20, 24 and 19, and the Kansas victory included two non-offensive touchdowns. Its rushing average against those opponents was 3.4 yards per carry. I expect Hawai‘i to make ASU work through possessions rather than consistently give it an easy route to touchdowns.
Hawai‘i’s finishing problems are the biggest threat to this ticket. It scored just three first-half points over its last two games and committed 12 penalties against San José State. Those mistakes can waste the passing production that makes the cover possible. I expect enough productive possessions to become points tonight, while ASU’s uneven offense makes sustaining a margin beyond 20.5 demanding. That combination makes Hawai‘i +20.5 at -104 my best ticket.
Hawai'i +20.5