Cactus Bowl: West Virginia Mountaineers vs Arizona State Sun Devils TV info, live stream, odds, predictions and More
By Gabe Encinas
Complete game preview for the Cactus Bowl between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the West Virginia Mountaineers.
The Pac-12 and Big 12 will face off in a late bowl game this season, pitting the Arizona State Sun Devils up against the West Virginia Mountaineers, in a near home game for Todd Graham’s squad. While Arizona State had their ups and downs this season, West Virginia looks to pick up their momentum they gained late in the season.
Once being dubbed as national championship contenders in the preseason, the Sun Devils had a severely disappointing season, and it started in a week one thrashing vs. Texas A&M. They struggled mightily against Cal Poly, and slid by New Mexico. It eventually caught up to them vs. USC, dropping to 2-2 early in the season.
But the Sun Devils responded, heading into the Rose Bowl, downing the No. 8 UCLA Bruins. But from there, it was a roller coaster ride, just a drive away from beating Utah, a controversial call vs. Oregon in double overtime, and a few missed opportunities vs. Washington State, left them at 4-5 on the season.
They bounced back vs. Washington, and almost let their in-state rival pull off a major comeback with their third-string quarterback. Then, the Sun Devils dropped a heart-breaker to California, losing on a last second field goal.
West Virginia took some hits in the Big 12 Conference, losing a brutal stretch of four in the middle of the season to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, and TCU. The Mountaineers went on to win four straight after that, but dropped the season finale to Kansas State by one, after the Wildcats rallied with their emergency wide receiver turned quarterback.
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When you look at West Virginia’s schedule, their seven wins don’t really look too impressive, putting up 40-plus points in their three non-conference games which included Georgia Southern, Liberty, and Maryland. Three of their wins came via Kansas, Iowa State and Texas, who combined for a 8-28 record this season. However, West Virginia did have a quality win over Texas Tech.
- Date: Saturday January 2, 2015
- Time: 10:15 PM Eastern
- Location: Phoenix, AZ
- TV Channel: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Spread: West Virginia -1
- Over/Under: 64
Keys to Victory
Arizona State will be without deputy head coach Mike Norvell, and that could throw some things off with the offensive rhythm. But the Sun Devils have a young stable of backs, and senior quarterback Mike Bercovici will have had enough time, knowledge, to digest the West Virginia game film.
Graham is all about preparation, and studying his opponents as well. But he has struggled mightily in bowl games during his time in Tempe. Given that his team is playing right up street for his bowl game, I would worry about the motivation, especially coming off a 6-6 season.
It’s a shame because this Arizona State has the potential to be a solid nine-win team. There’s plenty of NFL talent on both sides, but a lack of execution has hindered this team greatly. This season, Arizona State’s defense has been suspect. The unit uses a risk-reward attack, often blitzing seven or eight, more often than not. And that’s what this teams biggest flaw seems to be.
West Virginia has an explosive offense, putting up an average of 33 points a game. And they use a heavy dose of speed in their running game but that is Arizona State’s strength. Going up against some of the best backs in the nation out west in the Pac-12, the Sun Devils ranked 19th in rushing defense. Counter that with WVU’s No. 15 rushing offense and this could be a battle.
Junior quarterback Skylar Howard isn’t a one that will torch you throw the air, and this offense slowly gets a rhythm going through the run game, Howard included. Expect Wendell Smallwood to have big responsibilities on the ground, with Rushel Shell coming in to ease some of the pressure.
The Mountaineers host a very average defense, which might not be able to keep up with the Sun Devils, should they start to get things going. However, West Virginia was going up against some of the highest powered offenses in the nation, and might have learned a thing or two through their losses this season.
Prediction
West Virginia’s seven wins are not impressive, and although they are battled tested through their rigorous Big 12 schedule, it’s hard to imagine the Mountaineers coming out on top in what is virtually a home game for the Sun Devils.
Arizona State has the edge on defense, or so it seems. I fear that the Mountaineers are too dimensional, and when Arizona State starts selling out on their blitz packages, forcing West Virginia to go through the air, it doesn’t look to fare well.
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While Graham does struggle a bit in bowl games, I would expect Arizona State to win this one soundly, firing on all cylinders on offense, and suffocating West Virginia’s ground game with a heavy blitz.