UCF Knights vs Arizona State Sun Devils Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 11/09/24

One of the longest Big 12 road trips is this weekend, as we take a look at our Central Florida Knights vs Arizona State Sun Devils prediction. The Sun Devils are one of the surprise teams in the conference, now sitting at 6-2 and not entirely out of the conference title picture. They were picked to finish near the bottom of the standings, but they have proven to be competent on both sides of the ball in unexpected ways. UCF, on the other hand, was expected to compete near the top of the conference, but they have performed poorly most of the way. While they smoked Arizona at home last week, that only managed to break a 5-game losing streak. If you haven’t followed UCF closely, they have been favored in most of those games, only to lose or even get blasted at times. If home field is worth 3 points to oddsmakers, then this game is a dead heat, and I just don’t see it. Indeed, something about this Knights team keeps getting measured wrong, and I am betting the other way. Give me the Sun Devils to cover in this one.

In terms of the specifics of the matchup, UCF is a run-heavy team. They have a dynamic rushing attack that attacks in lots of creative ways, but Arizona State ranks 27^th in the nation in rushing yards allowed. They even held Ollie Gordon to 25 yards on 11 carries last week. Early in the year, I was skeptical of this ASU team, but I have come to believe that their defense is real, and I expect them to frustrate the UCF ground game. On the other side of the ball, the Sun Devils have a gritty quarterback in Sam Leavitt and one of the most blue-collar, old-school running backs you will find in Cameron Skattebo. Especially playing at home, I think ASU will be too much for a UCF team that is constantly overvalued. Give me the Devils.

UCF at Arizona State Prediction: Arizona State -3 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.