Football predictions: Stanford vs. Arizona State

Sept. 30, 2017, 5:13 a.m.

Stanford (2-2, 1-1 Pac-12) vs. Arizona State (2-2, 1-0)

Ariana Rollins: Stanford 48, Arizona State 27

I expect this to be a similarly high-scoring game as last week, with Stanford winning handily over Arizona State. Given the similarities between UCLA and ASU — both with high-powered quarterbacks but poorly-ranked defenses — it wouldn’t be surprising if the games ended up remarkably similarly. So long as our defense can hold up, or we run out the clock enough with Bryce Love, let’s look for another Stanford win at home.

Sam Curry: Stanford 38, Arizona State 31

At the beginning of the season, I saw this game being a walkover for the Cardinal, considering the Sun Devils were one of the worst teams in the Pac-12 last season and opened this one by squeaking by Sun Belt opponent New Mexico State in Tempe. But after competing well with San Diego State and Texas Tech, two formidable opponents, and beating Oregon last week, I’m giving the Sun Devils a solid chance to upset the Cardinal. I don’t trust the Stanford defense to contain Arizona State quarterback Manny Wilkins, who is 11th in the FBS in passing yards, so I’m going to bet on Bryce Love running wild on the weak Sun Devil defense to carry the Cardinal to a close victory in another high-scoring affair.

Jose Saldana: Stanford 41, Arizona State 27

I’m a bit worried since I am 0-3 in my predictions this season, but my UCLA prediction was a reverse jinx so I am really 1-2. Anyways, the Sun Devils had a solid victory over Oregon last week but were defeated by San Diego State and Texas Tech. The main theme in those games (and all their games for that matter) was Arizona State’s awful defense. It has given up 37.5 points per game while the Cardinal are averaging 40.3 points per game and 259 rushing yards per game. Of course, the games against UCLA and Rice inflate these numbers quite a bit but the Sun Devils are 118th in total defense, which is slightly better than UCLA’s defensive ranking. Arizona State’s offense is based around quarterback Manny Wilkins, but the running game hasn’t been very effective (2.9 yards per carry). I still expect Wilkins to throw for many yards and put the Sun Devils in position to score but the Stanford defense will force turnovers, and the offense will be too much to handle as Bryce Love carries the Cardinal to victory.

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