[bigboydan]

**Arizona State vs. Rutgers**


Insight Bowl, in Phoenix


-Our friends at LVSC opened this line at Arizona State -13 only to see it drop down to -10 1/2 or -10 in some spots. The total is hovering right around the opening number of 62. Gametime is 8:30 est. from Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix, AZ.



-Rutgers comes into this bowl game with a 7-4 record (4-6 ATS). The Scarlet Knights are off a 44-7 pounding of Cincinnati in which the offense put up 574 yards with 337 of it coming on the ground. After winning six of its first seven, Rutgers dropped games to South Florida and Louisville before winning their final outing.



-Fumbles don't happen often for Rutgers. They rank number one in the country in that category. Interceptions are another story as the Scarlet Knights average 1.3 per game. Turnovers are often the difference in their games as they were +5 in their last six wins wins and -11 in their three losses.



- ASU won three of its last four to earn a trip to Phoenix. The biggest win came in a 23-20 game against rival Arizona to make the Sun Devils bowl eligable at 6-5 (6-5 ATS).



-Arizona State brings one of the nations best passing attacks (365 yards per game) to the table. That attack has led the offense to an impressive 36.1 points per game and 6.5 yards per play.



-ESPN will provide live television coverage following the Champs Sports Bowl between Colorado and Clemson..

[EBone]

Power ratings yield:

Arizona State by 10
Total: 58


I am really liking Arizona State here for a few reasons. They are:

1) I am anti-Rutgers. They have played in a rather weak conference with a weak schedule compared to Arizona State and still only went 7-4. The only passing offense that have faced this year, in my opinion, was Louisville. Rutgers was crushed 56-5 by Louisville. One game that stands out to me is that they gave up 300+ passing yards in September to the Pitt Panthers. If you recall, Pitt really, really struggled early on so to give up that many passing yards to a team that was struggling really stands out to me. If they think Louisville and Pitt are passing jaugernauts, they havent seen a passing offense like they are going to see out of Arizona State and HC Dirk Koetter.

2) In my opinion, Arizona State playing in Phoenix is an advantage and not a deterent to their chances of a cover. I have read that some people say it makes the supposed home team soft but I don't buy it in this situation.

3) Turnover ratio: Rutgers is -3 and Arizona State is +7. With a home field advantage, I would say that you can expect Arizona State to win the battle of turnovers in this game.


I will be taking Arizona State tomorrow and giving the points.


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[misteve]

I like ASU as well.....hey, I went to school there!
Anyway, just heard about the flu that has hit the Phoenix area and has affected many ASU players. I, and you guys, will want to research that further. Just a heads up. Hopefully not a big deal....these guys are young and have already bounced back....but, more later....

[Illusion]

I originally liked Arizona State, but decided to throw this game out.

[bigboydan]

i guess i'm the only one that likes rutgers in this thread uh

[pags11]

dan, I'm on Rutgers +11.5 here as well...ASU is a talented team and does have an edge playing at home...they will have a tough time running the ball vs. Rutgers and I didn't think Carpenter was very accurate the last two games of the season...who knows, maybe the time off will help him...Rutgers has a lot of Seniors and will be able to match scores here with ASU...really like RB's Leonard and Rice...senior QB Hart will want to go out in style, this guy's pretty good, as is WR Tres Moses and TE Clarke Harris...should be a barnburner...GL guys...

[EBone]

It sure does look like there is a ton of money rolling in on Rutgers in this game.


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