2018 College Football Playoff, bowl game predictions with confidence picks
Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl
No. 21 Fresno St (11-2) vs Arizona St (7-5)
Las Vegas, Nevada
December 15 – 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
This feels like one of the biggest mismatches of bowl season, and that was before Arizona State star WR N’Keal Harry elected to sit the game out to focus on the NFL Draft. Without Harry, it’s tough to see the Sun Devils having enough offense to keep up in this game against a Fresno State defense that is one of stingiest in the entire country.
The Bulldogs nearly got to the New Year’s Six, but UCF came from behind to beat Memphis, keeping Jeff Tedford’s team in Las Vegas where they will at least get a shot to add a power-five skin to the wall.
Since a week two loss to Minnesota, Fresno State’s only defeat was on the road at Boise State, but the Bulldogs were able to avenge that loss in the Mountain West title game by knocking off the Broncos 19-16 to book their trip to Sin City.
QB Marcus McMaryion is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation, and the senior should be able to out-duel Manny Wilkins, who will be without his top playmaker.
I’d wager a lot of confidence points on Fresno. Don’t get bogged down with the name value of Arizona State; the Bulldogs are the better team.