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Carrie Stroup here with your Arizona State vs. UCLA betting line, which had Arizona State as a -1.5 visiting favorite. The Sun Devils opened as -3 point favorites. Be sure to claim your FREE $100 bet when you open an online wagering account here at Sportsbook.com.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Arizona State -1.5 & 62.5
Opening Line & Total: Sun Devils -3 & 62
With a Pac-12 title game berth on the line, No. 19 Arizona State will travel to the Rose Bowl to take on No. 14 UCLA Saturday night.
The Sun Devils are 8-2 and have dropped only one game in the conference, to powerhouse Stanford. They have wins against USC and Washington already, so the Bruins are their final tough test as they have gone 5-5 ATS this year and 4-3 ATS in the Pac-12. Arizona State has lost two in a row ATS however, barely beating Utah 20-19 and just missing out on covering a 13.5-point spread with a 30-17 win against Oregon State last weekend. Since 1992, Arizona State is 8-21 ATS (28%) when playing a team with a winning percentage of higher than 75% like the Bruins. UCLA, meanwhile, has already lost to both Stanford and Oregon, and faces a tough end to the season with the Sun Devils and USC remaining on the schedule. The Bruins are an impressive 7-3 ATS this season, going 4-3 ATS in league action. They have covered twice in a row with an upset win against Arizona and then a 41-31 win against Washington last Friday. With these two offenses averaging nearly 80 PPG combined, a shootout appears likely and could be reminiscent of last season, when the Bruins (6.5-point underdogs) eked out a 45-43 victory on the road on a last-second field goal. UCLA won and covered the last meeting in L.A., winning by one point as an 8.5-point home underdog in 2011.
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Arizona State QB Taylor Kelly is a workhorse under center, completing 236-of-378 (62.4%) of his passes this season for 2,838 yards, 24 TD and 10 INT. He was brilliant in last year’s loss to the Bruins, throwing for 315 yards, 4 TD and just 1 INT. His top target is Jaelen Strong (59 catches, 834 yards, 5 TD), though he has a deep arsenal of options with D.J. Foster (523 rec. yards, 3 TD), Chris Coyle (370 rec. yards, 4 TD) and RB Marion Grice, who leads the team with 6 TD receptions. Grice has also been a menace on the ground, rumbling for 901 yards (5.2 YPC) and 14 rushing TD. Kelly can also carry the ball himself, rushing for 312 yards and 7 TD so far this year. Last year though, Grice and Kelly were both limited to less than 4.0 YPC by the Bruins defense. The Arizona State defense is yielding only 3.7 YPC this year, while the secondary has limited opponents to a 53.3% completion rate.
UCLA QB Brett Hundley is an NFL prospect for good reason, completing 68% of his passes this year for 2,384 yards, 20 TD and 8 INT. He was similar to Kelly in last year’s meeting, throwing for 274 yards, 4 TD and 1 INT. He is even more of a threat than Kelly on the ground though, rushing for a team-high 502 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Joining Hundley on the ground is a deep stable of ball carriers, as four other Bruins have at least three rushing touchdowns and 175 yards on the ground. Paul Perkins and Jordon James lead that crew with 476 and 471 rushing yards, respectively, while Myles Jack—who is also a linebacker—is a dangerous red zone threat, scoring four touchdowns last week versus Washington. The biggest weapon in UCLA’s receiving corps is WR Shaquelle Evans, who leads the team with 524 receiving yards on an impressive 14.6 yards per catch, hauling in a team-high seven touchdowns. The Bruins pass defense has struggled this season, allowing foes to complete 62.0% of their passes, while the line has been better, giving up a pedestrian 3.9 YPC.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
