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Arizona State hopes to give its fired coach Dennis Erickson one final win, but it has a quite a tough matchup with No. 6 Boise State in Thursday’s Las Vegas Bowl.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Boise State -14 & 66.5
Opening Line & Total: Broncos -14 & 66
ASU has dropped four straight (SU and ATS) despite being favored in each game, but the Broncos have lost six in a row ATS. Both schools can throw the football as Boise State QB Kellen Moore has 292 passing YPG, 41 TD and 7 INT, while ASU’s Brock Osweiler has 303 passing YPG, 24 TD and 12 INT. But BSU has a far superior pass defense (196 YPG, 25th in nation) than ASU (271 YPG, 107th in nation). And since 1999, Boise is 7-4 in bowls and Arizona State is 2-5.
Erickson will coach Arizona State for one last game, trying to lead the school to its first bowl win since 2005. Although ASU’s defense has been atrocious in the past three games (38.3 PPG, 523 total YPG), the offense has been consistent all year. The Sun Devils have scored 27+ points in 11 of 12 games on the season and ranking 25th in the nation with 451 total YPG. Osweiler has thrown for at least 250 yards in 11 of 12 contests, and is coming off a season-high-tying three touchdown passes in a 47-38 loss to California. RB Cameron Marshall had a huge performance against Cal, rushing for 157 yards and 2 TD -- his ninth straight game with a rushing touchdown. Both players will have their work cut out for them in facing Boise’s 10th-ranked scoring defense (18.3 PPG) and 16th-ranked total defense (316 YPG).
Moore is the winningest quarterback in college football history, sporting an incredible 49-3 record as a starter. He has thrown for 14,374 yards (276 YPG), 140 TD and just 26 INT in these 52 career games. But the Broncos also have a star running back in senior Doug Martin who has been a beast in his past five full games, rushing for 717 yards (5.7 YPC) and 10 TD. In last year’s Las Vegas Bowl 26-3 win over Utah, Martin rushed for 147 yards and touchdown on just 17 carries (8.6 YPC), while Moore threw for 339 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. Although ASU’s pass defense is horrendous (378 passing YPG in past three games), the team has held half of its opponents to 105 rushing yards or less. Boise has committed seven turnovers in the past four games, but the Sun Devils have just three takeaways in the past three games. The Broncos are also tied for the nation’s lead in fewest sacks allowed (eight), which helps keep their turnovers to a minimum.
