Arizona State vs. Texas State: Prediction, Preview, Spread and Betting Odds
Week 3 of the college football season is here. Arizona State plays Texas State, and Heartland College Sports has your game prediction, preview, and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
GAME INFO
Thursday, Sept. 12; 6:30 p.m. (CT); UFCU Stadium; San Marcos, TX
TV: ESPN
Records: Arizona State (2-0); Texas State (2-0)
Last Week: Arizona State 30, Mississippi State 23; Texas State 49, UTSA 10
Series History: First-ever meeting
Last Meeting: N/A
Fun Fact: Texas State head coach GJ Kinne, one of the top up-and-coming names in college football, has ties to the Big 12 as he spent the 2021 season at UCF under Gus Malzahn as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Last year, Kinne led the Bobcats to their first-ever FBS Bowl Game, a 45-21 win over Rice in the Servpro First Responder Bowl.
Arizona State vs Texas State Betting Lines and Odds
Opening Line: Arizona State (-2.5)
Over/Under: 58.5
Key Players
Arizona State Sun Devils
RB Cam Skattebo
Fresh off the biggest rushing performance of his career, Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo is undoubtedly the name to know when the Sun Devils’ offense is on the field. In a 30-23 win over Mississippi State last week, Skattebo turned an FBS-high 33 carries into 262 yards (7.9 ypc) and earned AP National Player of the Week honors. Skattebo is a 220-lb Swiss army knife for Arizona State and will be featured all over the field for ASU.
LB Keyshaun Elliott
Through the first two games of the 2024 season, Keyshaun Elliott has been a pleasant surprise for the Sun Devils’ defense. After recording 111 tackles for New Mexico State in 2023, Elliott is off to a great start for Arizona State, recording 12 tackles through the first two games, having an interception in a Week 1 win over Wyoming, and a sack in last week’s game against Mississippi State. This week, Elliott and company will face their stiffest test yet, but he should once again be among the Sun Devils’ most active defenders.
Texas State Bobcats
QB Jordan McCloud
Texas State is coming off a resonating 49-10 win over UTSA in Week 2 — the program’s first-ever win over the Roadrunners. Much of that had to do with the production of quarterback Jordan McCloud, who earned Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors after a four-touchdown (two rushing, two passing) performance that saw him complete 18 of 27 attempts for 309 passing yards. McCloud will be the most dynamic quarterback that ASU has faced to this point in the season and will be a major test for the Sun Devils’ defense.
DE Tunmise Adeleye
A former five-star recruit and one of the best overall prospects in the Class of 2021, Tunmise Adeleye signed with Texas A&M out of high school and transferred to Michigan State in 2023 before landing with the Bobcats this past offseason. He played in nine career games at A&M and MSU, but has played in each of his first two games in San Marcos and already leads the Bobcats in sacks (2.0). Listed at 6-foot-4, 301 pounds, Adeleye is a freaky athlete and a player with tremendous upside. If he starts to put things together this season at Texas State, it could make him a significant name in the transfer portal next cycle.
KEY STORYLINES
Arizona State Sun Devils
How does ASU look on the road? After getting off to an impressive 2-0 start at home, Arizona State will hit the road for the first time this season. Last year under Dillingham, the Sun Devils were 1-3 on the road, but were competitive in all but one of those games (55-3 loss at Utah). Now, they’ll have to do something they never did last year — play back-to-back games away from Tempe. Texas State is planning a “Black Out” theme with the fans this week and is being viewed as one of the G5 contenders for a College Football Playoff spot. Can ASU handle the pressure of success on the road and get to 3-0?
Texas State Bobcats
How does Texas State’s rush defense hold up? The Bobcats’ rush defense has been among the best in the nation through two games, allowing just 66.5 yards per contest. Though impressive, that came against the likes of Lamar and UTSA. After two weeks, Arizona State ranks seventh nationally with 293.5 rushing yards per game. The expectation is that the Sun Devils will try to control the tempo of the game with their rushing attack and set up Sam Leavitt with play-action pass scenarios. Can the Bobcats’ defense do enough to force ASU out of that kind of game plan?
PREDICTION: Arizona State 33, Texas State 27
Kenny Dillingham probably doesn’t get enough credit for how good of a football coach he is, but hopefully after this game that will start to change. The program he inherited in Tempe was set up for failure. A roster that had players like Jayden Daniels and Ricky Pearsall just a couple of seasons ago was now stripped down to the studs, and on top of that, the Sun Devils were banned from the postseason just before the season started. Still, ASU played competitive and hard-nosed football, and that’s translated to 2024 thus far.
I expect the Sun Devils to face some early adversity on their first road trip of the season. However, Dillingham rallies his guys for a strong second half and comes back to win a tough game against a quality opponent, moving them to a surprising 3-0 ahead of Big 12 play.
