Arizona State Football: 5 bold predictions for Sun Devils vs NC State in Sun Bowl

1. Arizona State will win the red zone battle in the Sun Bowl

There is going to be a lot of offense in this game. The big question won’t be whether the Sun Devils and the Wolfpack can get into scoring range, but rather whether they can punch the ball all the way into the endzone. While both teams played a grinding possession-based game on offense, one was far better once the field shortened up.

NC State was ranked 24th in the final College Football Playoff rankings for 2017, and they scored at least 30 points in seven of their 12 games. But the Wolfpack struggled all throughout the year in the red zone, ranking 123rd nationally in red zone offense. They failed to get points on two out of every seven trips inside the 20.

Ineptness in the red zone proved costly for the Wolfpack, as three of their four defeats came by a single touchdown. NC State will have a hard time breaking that slump against an Arizona State team that ranks a respectable-enough 48th in red zone defense.

On the other side of the ball, Arizona State has been among the best in the nation at getting points in the red zone. Only four teams are better at generating points inside the 20 than the Sun Devils, and they will continue that trend on Friday afternoon in El Paso. Look for them to generate both rushing and passing touchdowns in close range while NC State struggles to do either.