College Football Predictions – Arizona St Sun Devils 2017 NCAA Football Preview
2016 Recap
2016 Record – 5-7
2016 ATS – 6-6
That makes it back-to-back losing seasons for the Sun Devils. HC Todd Graham led Arizona St to a 28-12 record in his first three years in Tempe but it has been a tough ride over the past two campaigns. Arizona St started out on SUPAH HOT FIRE in 2016 (5-1) but lost their final six games to finish up at 5-7. There is no doubt that injuries played a yuuuge role in their slide. Can they rebound ? Let’s dig in.
2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
PAC 12 – TBD
South Division – TBD
OFFENSE
Last season Arizona St went through quarterbacks with ruthless efficiency due to injuries. They have several options this year with starting experience and add ROLL TIDE transfer Blake Barnett into the mix. We will keep a keen eye on the situation during fall camp, but feel that no matter what the outcome, the Sun Devils will be fine at QB.
The RB group is in great shape with the return of 1-2 punch Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage who combined for over 1,100 yards rushing and 17 TDs on the ground last year. Ballage is also a dangerous receiver who snagged 44 receptions in 2016. And don’t sleep on newcomer Eno Benjamin. The Sun Devils will be without last year’s leading WR Tim White but still feature a dangerous receiving group. N’Keal Harry is an emerging star with great size and speed. The offensive line allowed 41 sacks last season (last in PAC 12) and averaged almost 40 since Todd Graham took over as head coach. Not good.
DEFENSE
Amaze your LAZY CUBICLE COWORKER with this gem. Arizona St has gotten progressively worse in each of the last four seasons in terms of points per game allowed. New DC Phil Bennett has a ton of experience but also has a lot of work to do. The Sun Devils yielded 7 yards per play in 2016 which ranked them 2nd last in the FBS just ahead of the wacky Rice Owls.
There are some good pieces to work with on defense. They return their top-2 leading tacklers from the 2016 defense and will have an experienced defensive line that includes sack-master Koron Crump who garnered 1st Team PAC 12 honors last year. The pass defense was atrocious in 2016 and will likely be problematic once again. If Arizona St can get back to their usual level of PENETRATION it will do wonders for the pass coverage.
SPECIAL TEAMS
This might be a problem. Arizona St will move on without ALL-UNIVERSE PK Zane Gonzalez who was an absolute machine. They also need to break in a new P and will miss the leg of Matt Haack. More bad news ? The electrifying Tim White is gone from the return units.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot
September 16 – at Texas Tech. This game pops up just before PAC 12 play begins and the Red Raiders will be looking to avenge last season’s loss in Tempe.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
The last time the Sun Devils had back-to-back losing campaigns was 2008/2009.
Arizona St is not fond of the vegan diet plan. They are a DOCUMENTED 0-2 in the SALAD BOWL losing to Xavier (wut ?) and Miami Ohio back in the 1950s.
MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 4.0
MEGALOCKS says:
Overall, we give the SUN DEVILS a 4.0 ATS Value Rating (Below Average) this season.
We have mixed feelings about this team. The offense is going to be good no matter who starts at QB. Of course that assumes that they are not hit with another epic spell of injuries at the position. We worry about the offensive line, special teams and a defense that needs to take a big step forward. We project a bowl game appearance but they are probably a year away from making serious noise in the division. When it comes to the point spread it is really difficult for us to endorse a team with so many question marks heading into the season. Proceed with caution.
Want more Arizona St Football ?
Website
http://www.thesundevils.com/index.aspx?path=football
Forum
Free
http://scout.com/college/arizona-state/Board/Devils-Inferno-102980
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https://arizonastate.forums.rivals.com/forums/devils-huddle.22/
News
http://bleacherreport.com/arizona-state-football
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/asu-sun-devils/
http://sportspyder.com/cf/arizona-state-sun-devils-football/news
Hashtag – #ForksUp, #SunDevilTough
Accounts
https://twitter.com/FootballASU @FootballASU
https://twitter.com/DougHaller @DougHaller Doug Haller