With spring training to come to a halt across the nation soon, Power Five programs will be wrapping things up by the weekend, except for Oregon, which will close practice on April 30.
Arizona State is one of the programs that has had to make do with weight-room activities until the preseason but there’s been a lot to talk about despite their lack of enterprise. The topics span the team’s quarterback situation to whatever the new offensive and defensive coordinators will ask of the team in the upcoming season.
Head coach Herm Edwards is entering his fifth campaign in charge of the Sun Devils and the expectations are pretty high. Of course, that depends on who you speak to. Some folks have dreams of the team reaching new heights in the Pac-12 and appearing in the Rose Bowl but others are simply content to see them beat Arizona and upset the better teams in the conference.
Whatever your prediction is, BetMGM Arizona should have you covered when it comes to ASU. The popular portal features an impressive live betting section that offers odds on thousands of sporting events every week. Users will find several in-play punting options on some of the biggest games taking place, including same game parlays.
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As it pertains to the team, there are a number of outside factors that could affect the upcoming season, not least the NCAA’s investigation into alleged recruiting violations.
The team will have to play some tough opponents early in the season, with games against Oklahoma State and Utah coming in the term’s infancy stage, while five of their last eight games will be played away from home. ESPN's College Football Power Index has been used to predict the outcome of the inbound campaign.
The multimedia giants describe its FPI tool as:
"The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule."
The Sun Devils’ FPI is at 6.5 at the moment, the fifth-highest in the Pac-12, with Utah, UCLA, Oregon, and USC in front. That gives them a rank of No.41 in the nation and, to add some context, Utah’s 12.7 FPI ranks at No.15 - Alabama’s 28.9 puts them ahead of all other teams in the country.
Arizona State has gotten to at least seven wins every season since 2017.
None of the Pac-12 teams have been given a chance greater than 1.4 percent to go undefeated. ASU has been given a 0.1 percent chance. Their chances of being bowl eligible are a lot better, at 91.9 percent, to get at least six victories.
The program has also been given a 16.1 percent chance to win the Pac-12 South and a 7.5 percent chance to win the whole conference, having failed to win nine games in a single term since 2014. Oregon has the highest odds to win the Pac -12 at 33.3 percent.
The site KSL Sports has Arizona State down to win just three games, against Northern Arizona, Eastern Michigan, and Wisconsin.
“Arizona State is a disaster,” the prediction reads. “Nearly the entire coaching staff has either left or was fired. Their starting QB just left the program. On top of that, they signed the lowest recruiting class in the Pac-12. It’s going to be a tough year in Tempe and I think it’s the last season under Herm Edwards.”
In other Arizona State news, the school’s men’s basketball program has secured a move for Warren Washington, with the center joining his former Wolf Pack teammate Desmond Cambridge Jr. as part of the Sun Devils roster.
Washington had been the starter for Nevada for the past two seasons but entered the transfer zone and has an official visit to Arizona this week. He has opted to play there despite having visits to Marquette, Notre Dame, and Texas A&M.
The new Arizona State big man was one of the most productive frontcourt players at Mountain West last season and was No.1 in offensive rating on the team, as well as No.2 in defensive rating.