Las Vegas Bowl Prediction
The Arizona State Sun Devils won seven games in Herm Edwards’ first season and qualified for the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl, which they’ll play today at 3:30 p.m. ET. Will the Sun Devils keep it close with Fresno State or will the Bulldogs cover as a 6-point favorite?
Game Snapshot
205 Arizona State Sun Devils at 206 Fresno State Bulldogs
3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, December 15, 2018
Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, Nevada
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Bulldogs are 6-point favorites to beat the Sun Devils. The total, meanwhile, sits at 53.5 points. As of this writing, 55% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Bulldogs.
Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State freshman LB Merlin Robertson (family) did not travel with the team for the Las Vegas Bowl. Unfortunately, Robertson had a family emergency come up on Monday, with ASU HC Herm Edwards telling reporters on Wednesday that he would be unlikely to play in the Las Vegas Bowl against Fresno State on Saturday (not ruled out altogether, though). The 6-foot-3, 235-pound freshman ends his inaugural season of collegiate ball having recorded 77 tackles (8.5 for loss), five sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. He looks like he’ll be a good one for the Sun Devils in the years to come.
Fresno State Bulldogs
Fresno State senior QB Marcus McMaryion completed 20-of-32 passes for 170 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in a 19-16 overtime win in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game on Saturday. McMaryion also ran for 40 yards, but his overall stat line doesn’t look terribly impressive on paper. However, the first half saw moderate snowfall and bone-chilling conditions, especially tough on the kids from ‘The Valley’. In addition, Fresno entered 0-10 in their past 10 trips to Boise, including last season’s title game loss, last winning when the turf was green back on Sept. 8, 1984, or when McMaryion wasn’t even close to being born. Next up is a trip to the Las Vegas Bowl for McMaryion and his Bulldogs teammates.
Betting Trends
Arizona State
The over is 6-1 in the Sun Devils’ last seven bowl games and is 5-2 in their last seven games played in the month of December.
Fresno State
The over is 16-4-1 in the Bulldogs’ last 21 games versus Pac-12 opponents and is 4-1 in their last five non-conference matchups.
Prediction
The Sun Devils have not fared well in previous bowl games, posting a 2-7 record against the spread in their last nine bowl appearances. They’re also 1-5 against the spread in their last six neutral site games, are 1-6 against the number in their last seven games against Mountain West opponents, and are winless at 0-4 ATS in their last four games played in December. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have covered the spread in eight of their last 10 non-conference games, are 26-7-1 ATS in their last 34 games overall, and have covered the spread in 16 of their last 21 games against opponents with winning records.
Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl Prediction: Fresno State Bulldogs -6