College Football Predictions: Missouri vs. Arizona State Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Friday, 09 September 2011 14:55

Our preview of today’s college football between Missouri and Arizona State will include predictions on the final score.

The #19 Missouri Tigers (1-0) might have the higher ranking, but our preview of their game against the #23 Arizona State Sun Devils will go over why they are considered fairly large underdogs by the Las Vegas odds makers.  We’ll make predictions on the score and how this game will unfold, and you’ll want to tune in to ESPN at the 10:30 PM ET start time to check out Friday’s college football action.

Missouri opened up their 2011 college football season with a rather uneventful 17-6 victory over  Miami-Ohio, a game that saw Missouri gain only 291 total yards.  It was the first game without NFL-bound quarterback Blaine Gabbert at the helm, and new starter James Franklin threw for just 129 yards with a touchdown and an interception.  Missouri played well defensively but the fact that their secondary is fairly inexperienced could hurt them here if the Tigers are unable to put pressure on Arizona State’s quarterback.

Arizona State had little trouble dispatching of UC-Davis by a final score of 48-14.  Starting quarterback Brock Osweiler went for 262 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception while the Sun Devils ran for 217 yards as well.  This team has tons of experience coming back on both sides of the ball and our preseason preview expected them to compete for their conference title.  The defense looked stout and they should have success passing the ball even if the running game is bottled up by a strong Missouri defensive line.

The Sun Devils opened up as 6-point favorites on the college football odds before being bet up to -7.5 where they currently sit.  The total has also seen quite a bit of movement, opening up at 61.5 but being bet down to 52.5 with some big money bettors expecting a low-scoring game.  Missouri and Arizona State haven’t met up since the 1990 season when the Tigers took a 30-9 home victory as 12-point underdogs.  Make sure to do your 2011 college football betting at Legends Sportsbook.  They are offering a 25% cash bonus to new customers and our readers can claim their free money by clicking the link in the last sentence to get started.

Our Missouri vs. Arizona State preview calls for the Tigers to open up their offense a bit more than they showed in their opener, and they’ll have some success but ultimately be limited because of the Sun Devils’ tough defense and the road environment.  Arizona State should find success passing the ball but their lack of a reliable rushing attack will hinder the amount of points they amass.  Ultimately I like the fact that Arizona State has the more complete defense and the more experienced quarterback.  Since they are playing at home and don’t have as many question marks, I’m calling for the Sun Devils to cover the point spread while winning this game; along with the under being a winner.

Missouri vs. Arizona State Score Predictions:

Missouri 17

Arizona State 27