Texas A&M is gearing up to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils today at 11 AM CT, and the Aggies are looking like they're about to lay a huge beatdown on their Big 12 visitors. There's been a lot of buildup to this one this week, as this is the Aggies' big non-conference matchup of the season, but A&M has been— and remains— a heavy favorite over Kenny Dillingham's crew.
According to FanDuel, the Aggies are still a 14.5-point favorite over ASU in this upcoming game, with an over/under of 50.5 points in the game. That implies a final score of about 33-17 in favor of the Aggies here, which would be a solid win if not a resounding statement.
Bill Connelly's SP+ system sees things pretty similarly, with a projected final score of 35-17 in favor of the Aggies. FEI, another advanced rating system, is in the same ballpark, projecting a final score around 32-16.
Texas A&M final odds and predictions for huge game against Arizona State
Kenny Dillingham's team isn't coming into this game with the mindset that they're about to lose, however— they have a huge upset on their mind. The Aggies will need to be ready for this game, especially on the defensive side, as Dillingham and company are going to be throwing the kitchen sink at them.
This is a defense that is ready for that challenge, however. Mike Elko has, in his day, defended lots of similar offensive attacks to what we're about to see out of Dillingham and the Sun Devils, and he's been one of the most successful coaches in the country in doing so.
ASU put up 70 points on a hapless Morgan State team last weekend, thanks to a huge day out of their wide receiver corps, and while that cast of characters is certainly talented, I don't think they're ready for this Aggie secondary. Dezz Ricks, Julio Humphrey, Dalton Brooks, Marcus Ratcliffe, and Jordan Shaw put on a show last week in a pretty vanilla scheme— if they start to mix things up even a little bit in this game, it could make life very hard for Kentucky QB transfer Cutter Boley.
To do that, though, they'll have to be sure tacklers in the short passing game; the Aggies can switch things up on the back end of the defense as much as they want, but if Boley is able to just keep checking things down to receivers who break tackles, then it will all be for naught.
I think this is a matchup that heavily favors the Aggies in a lot of ways, however. I've been predicting a pretty big win all week, and I've felt nothing to make me back off of that in the leadup to this one. Look for Mike Elko's crew to make a huge statement today on national TV— this team and this defense are going to be a force to be reckoned with going forward in the race for the College Football Playoff.
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