Arizona State football looks to get head start in 2019 with Kent State win
With a wide open Pac-12, Arizona State football looks to make the jump in 2019. Can the Sun Devils take care of business in Week 1 vs. Kent State?
One of the most surprising hires in recent years was that of Herm Edwards by Arizona State. But after the Sun Devils qualified for a bowl, won seven games and finished second in the Pac-12 South in 2018, the hire seems to have been the right one.
For 2019, the expectations are higher than they have been and the Sun Devil’s look to step up to the challenge.
The Kent State Golden Flashes are your typical MAC team and are just looking to improve on last year’s 10-loss season. Seems unlikely, but an upset over Arizona State would be one of the biggest in program history and could spark the run to the Golden Flashes’ first winning season since 2012.
Odds of this one being close are low but it’s football on a Thursday, so why not watch it?
Here’s how you can watch Thursday’s game between Arizona State and Kent State:
Date: Thursday, Aug. 29
Time: 10 p.m. ET
Location: Tempe, Ariz.
Venue: Sun Devil Stadium
TV: Pac-12 Network
Live Stream: Pac-12 Network Live | Fubo TV
Keys to Victory
For Arizona State, they have a true freshman under center in Jayden Daniels so getting him acclimated to Division 1 college football will be a big part of the Sun Devil game plan. Luckily for the Sun Devils, highly talented running, Eno Benjamin, will be able to take off a lot of pressure of the freshman’s first game and first season.
The Golden Flashes will hope quarterback, Woody Barrett, will have one of the best games of his career. Kent State’s offensive line has a lot of experience and is taking on an Arizona State defensive line that has some fresh faces, hopefully proving the dual-threat quarterback more time to make a play.
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of Bovada
Line: Arizona State -25
Over/Under: 60
Prediction
This one might be close early but for different reasons. The Sun Devils are working with a new quarterback while the Golden Flashes are battling a tough Arizona State team. The Sun Devils break off some big runs as Benjamin reaches the end zone three times in the first half and provides some confidence to Daniels.
Next. College football's top 50 fanbases. dark
The Golden Flashes have some small sparks on offense as Barrett makes some big plays in the air and on the ground. But the Sun Devils are too much for Kent State to keep up with and run away with this one.
Final: Kent State 17, Arizona State 48