Wyoming vs. Arizona State Preview
- Wyoming vs Arizona State is scheduled for a 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff on FS1 Saturday night, in the season opener for both teams.
- The Sun Devils are -6.5 or -7 against the Cowboys, depending on the sportsbook, meaning Arizona State is favored by more or less a touchdown.
- There is still a Wyoming +7.5 line at ESPN BET, which is crucial for my pick tonight.
- My Wyoming vs Arizona State best bet is on Wyoming to cover the spread at +7.5.
After a 3-9 season in 2023, Arizona State is looking for a turnaround in Kenny Dillingham's second year when it opens up its season against Wyoming.
Craig Bohl has retired after a decade on the sidelines in Laramie that wrapped with a 9-4 season in 2023, but a familiar face in defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel steps in to take over the head coaching duties. The Cowboys are coming off that 9-win season and a victory over Toledo in the Arizona Bowl, but they'll have to replace a lot of production on both sides of the ball.
On top of that, they're dealing with an injury to their star running back Harrison Waylee, who's going to miss the opener.
Arizona State hit the transfer portal heavily this offseason to try to improve from that 3-win season. Dillingham also brought in Marcus Arroyo to be the offensive coordinator with a big focus on running the football.
Former Michigan State quarterback Sam Leavitt has won the starting job over Jeff Sims for the opening game, but the Sun Devils lost a lot of their key players in the portal and are bringing back one of the worst defenses in the power four. They could be on upset alert in this opening game.
Here's my Wyoming vs. Arizona State predictions and my college football picks for this Week 1 late-night game on Saturday.
Wyoming vs. Arizona State Picks
SPREAD
I'm betting Wyoming to cover the spread at Wyoming +7.5. I would not bet Wyoming +7, although I could see leaning that direction at that number, and I absolutely would not bet Wyoming +6.5.
MONEYLINE
I won't be betting on either team to win outright, but if you want a bigger payout on your bet, Wyoming is currently +210 to win.
TOTAL
Teams that are built in the transfer portal like ASU tend to struggle offensively, which could point toward an under, but I will not be betting the total.
Wyoming vs. Arizona State Pick: Wyoming +7.5
My Wyoming-Arizona State best bet is on the Cowboys to cover the spread, with the best line currently available at FanDuel, according to our live NCAAF odds page.
Wyoming vs. Arizona State Odds
| Wyoming Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+7 -115 | 47 -110o / -110u | +210 |
| Arizona St Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-7 -105 | 47 -110o / -110u | -260 |
- Wyoming vs Arizona State Point Spread: Arizona State -7 | Wyoming +7
- Wyoming vs Arizona State Total: Over/Under 47
- Wyoming vs Arizona State Moneyline: Wyoming +210 | Arizona State -260
How to Watch Wyoming vs Arizona State
| Location: | Mountain America Stadium, Tempe, AZ |
| Date: | Saturday, Aug. 31 |
| Kickoff Time: | 10:30 p.m. ET |
| TV / Streaming: | FS1 |
Arizona State vs Wyoming is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET live on FS1 and streaming platforms such as YouTube TV and the FOX Sports app, coming to you from Mountain America Stadium in Tempe, Arizona.
Wyoming vs Arizona State Weather
Wyoming vs Arizona State Betting Trends
- Three Action Network expert are currently targeting the Cowboys ATS in this affair.
- 60% of the bets and 57% of the money are on Wyoming to cover the spread.
- 95% of bets and 99% of the money are on Arizona State on the moneyline.
- 80% of bets and 84% of the money are on the over.
Wyoming vs. Arizona State: College Football Week 1 Picks
While Bohl is no longer on the sidelines, things aren't going to change for the Cowboys on offense. There's still going to be a heavy commitment to running the football, even with new offensive coordinator Jay Johnson calling the plays.
The loss of Waylee can't be understated for this opening game. Last season, he ran for almost 1,000 yards, averaged 5.8 yards per carry and had a PFF rushing grade of 80.1.
That means that DJ Jones, who transferred in from North Carolina, will be getting a majority of the carries on Saturday night. Jones was out of the picture in North Carolina's backfield last year, but in 2022, he did average over five yards per carry in a limited role.
The big thing for Jones is he has an outstanding offensive line in front of him.
Wyoming lost its best offensive lineman — Frank Crum — from last season, but the other four starters are returning, and it has three real interior offensive linemen. The Cowboys ranked 54th in offensive line yards a season ago and really shouldn't see too big of a drop off.
They'll have a really good matchup against an Arizona State front seven that was outside the top 100 in almost every rush defense metric last season.
Evan Svoboda is now the starting quarterback, and he has one thing going for him: He's one of the biggest quarterbacks in college football. He stands at 6-foot-5 and weighs 245 pounds, which is reminding a lot of people in Laramie of another big quarterback to wear No. 17.
Wyoming's defense projects to be one of the best in the Mountain West and is going to cause Arizona State a lot of problems. The front seven is stacked, with Wyoming returning six of its top seven tacklers from last season. The Cowboys even picked up Evan Eller from VMI, who had 107 tackles last season.
The Cowboys know how to stop the run and limit explosive plays under Sawvel, ranking 21st in rushing explosiveness allowed last season.
Things are changing for Arizona State on the offensive side of the ball with the arrival of Arroyo. There's going to be a big commitment to running the football, especially after Jaden Rashada hit the transfer portal.
Leavitt is now the starting quarterback, and with him comes a lot of inexperience. He was a three-star recruit coming out of high school and only attempted 27 passes at Michigan State last season.
That means that Arizona State is going to lean heavily on running back Cameron Skattebo. He had a decent season last year, averaging 4.8 yards per carry and had a 84.2 PFF rushing grade.
The question mark is not if he's a good running back, but can they block for him? Four starters are gone from an offensive line that was pretty effective in run blocking last season, ranking 11th in stuff rate allowed and 50th in offensive line yards.
Dillingham brought in seven transfers, but this offensive line is a work in progress, especially going up against a stout Wyoming front seven that can stop the run.
Arizona State lost its top wideout Elijah Badger, so it's going to be relying on transfers and returning receivers that hardly played last year.
Arroyo usually tries to avoid having his quarterbacks throw in standard downs, so if they aren't able to run the football, that's going to put a lot of pressure on Leavitt in his first start.
Last season, Arizona State couldn't stop the run, ranking 115th in EPA/Rush allowed, and those problems are only going to intensify this season. The Sun Devils' best two defensive lineman are gone, and keeping the theme of Arizona State, it's going to be relying on a lot of transfers to try and fix its problems.
The biggest thing is the Sun Devils aren't deep at all across their defensive line, which is a big problem when Wyoming is going to be running it at a really high rate with a very experienced offensive line.
Best Bet for Wyoming vs. Arizona State Prediction
The line for this game has been steamed up to -7 in favor of Arizona State at many books, and there's still that Arizona State -7.5 lingering in the market — likely because of Waylee being out for Wyoming.
With that being said, what tends to happen in this new era of college football is teams that are built almost entirely through the portal really struggle early on. Arizona State is in that position right now, with new faces everywhere you look.
The real worry for Arizona State in this game is in the trenches. It's going to have to run the ball to be successful in Arroyo's offense because if it doesn't, it's going leave its inexperienced quarterback in third-and-long scenarios throwing to brand new receivers.
Wyoming's front seven is loaded and really should be able to control the line of scrimmage, which gives the Cowboys a big edge here.
Even with Jones at running back, Wyoming's offensive line should be able to create a lot of easy running lanes for him.
Arizona State was one of the worst Power-Five run defenses a season ago, and things are going to get worse early on this season with a completely new defensive line that doesn't look even close to as good as the one it had last season.
There are a lot of projection models — including our own PRO projections — that are showing a lot of value on Wyoming, so I really like the Cowboys here at +7.5.
Pick: Wyoming +7.5 | Lean Wyoming +7
Pick: Wyoming +7.5 |
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