WVU football is traveling to Arizona State to take on the Sun Devils, riding a high of a two-game win streak. In an up-and-down season, WVU has some momentum building, but has a huge obstacle in front of it in the form of Arizona State. Let's take a last look ahead at the clash between the Sun Devils and Mountaineers.
Final Odds
Heading into Tempe, Arizona, WVU is an 11.5-point underdog according to Vegas oddsmakers. The line is heavily favored towards the Sun Devils, who are 6-3 on the season. Arizona State will not have star quarterback Sam Leavitt, who is out for the rest of the season, or potential first-round pick wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (out with a leg injury). Jeff Sims will be calling the shots for Arizona State, replacing the star Leavitt.
One Vegas oddsmaker has the total points over/under set at 47.5. That suggests that Vegas believes that Arizona State will cruise to victory but will not necessarily explode in an offensive outburst against the Mountaineers. With the spread set at -11.5 for Arizona State, Vegas believes that the Sun Devils will put up some points but will not scorch the WVU defense, given that Arizona State does not have its’ star quarterback or wide receiver.
If someone wanted a long-shot bet in this game, look no further than the WVU moneyline. Vegas oddsmakers have WVU at +360 to win outright, translating to an implied probability of approximately 21.74% chance to win the game. ESPN’s matchup predictor has WVU with about a 14.1% chance to win.
Player Props
Beginning with the “Anytime Touchdown Scorer” props, Arizona State running back Raleek Brown has the highest chance to reach the endzone, with Vegas oddsmakers giving him -340 odds to score a touchdown. The next highest odds to score are Sims to reach the endzone with his legs, with -195 odds to score. WVU’s running back Diore Hbbard has the highest chance among WVU players to reach the end zone with +105 odds, and true freshman star and future of the program, WVU’s quarterback Scotty Fox Jr., has +120 odds to reach the end zone with his legs.
Moving on to the passers, Sims has the higher passing yards line, which is set at 162.5 passing yards. Fox Jr.’s passing yards line is set at 153.5 passing yards. Sims’ passing touchdown line is set at 1.5 passing touchdowns, with the over having +158 odds and the under having -215 odds. For Fox Jr., his passing touchdown line is set at 0.5 with the over having -138 odds and the under having +104 odds.
Next for the rushing props, Arizona State’s Brown has the highest line for rushing yards at 84.5 rushing yards. That is a pretty high line, which points at the struggles of the WVU defense to stop the run at various times this year. Arizona State has the two highest rushing yards lines, with Sims entering with a 70.5 rushing yards betting prop. WVU running back Hubbard’s rushing yard line is set for 56.5, and Fox Jr.’s line is set at 30.5.
Lastly, the receiving props also favor the Sun Devils with the top two highest lines being Sun Devil players, tight end Chamon Metayer (42.5 receiving yards) and wide receiver Malik McClain (36.5 receiving yards). The top two highest receiving yards lines for the Mountaineers belong to wide receiver Cam Vaughn (35.5 receiving yards) and Hubbard (18.5 receiving yards).
Vegas oddsmakers are obviously favoring the Sun Devils with the odds and player props available. But the game still has to be played on the field, and you never know who might just defy the odds.
Injuries
The Mountaineers are missing quarterbacks Nicco Marchiol and Jaylen Henderson, running backs Jahiem White, Tye Edwards, Clay Ash, and Tyler Jacklich, wide receiver Jaden Bray, and offensive lineman Cooper Youn on offense.
Defensively, the Mountaineers will be without linebacker Ashton Woods, safeties Jordan Walker and Julien Horton, defensive back William Davis, and cornerback Nick Taylor.
As previously mentioned, the Sun Devils will be without their starting quarterback Sam Leavitt and top wideout Jordyn Tyson, and also have several other players listed as out for the contest.