Perhaps the highest-profile matchup on the first weekend of bowl season takes place Saturday when the Arizona State Sun Devils and Fresno State Bulldogs meet in the 2018 Las Vegas Bowl. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET from Sam Boyd Stadium. The Bulldogs (11-2) are looking to cap a historic season in which they won their first Mountain West championship since 2013. The Sun Devils (7-5) hope to finish a solid first season under Herman Edwards with the program's first bowl victory since 2014. Fresno State is a 5.5-point sportsbook favorite, up from an opening mark of -3, in the latest Arizona State vs. Fresno State odds. The over-under for total points scored has climbed to 53.5 from an initial offering of 52. Before you lock in your Arizona State vs. Fresno State picks, be sure to check out the 2018 Las Vegas Bowl projections from SportsLine's Emory Hunt.
Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007. The former college football running back joined SportsLine in 2016 and has provided his followers with winning seasons in college and pro football.
Hunt is having another solid season for SportsLine members, and enters the bowl season on an 11-6 run on his point-spread selections. What's more, he has had a keen eye for the tendencies of these two programs and boasts an astounding 8-2 spread record on spread picks involving these teams.
Two weeks ago, Hunt told SportsLine members that Fresno State (+2.5) would upset Boise State in the Mountain West Championship Game, with its physical defense making the difference. The result: The Bulldogs repeatedly got key stops to earn the victory. Anyone who followed Hunt's advice pocketed another winner.
Now, Hunt has analyzed the latest 2018 Las Vegas Bowl odds from every possible angle and released a confident point-spread pick that is available only at SportsLine.
With a win in the Las Vegas Bowl 2018, Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford can continue one of the most impressive program resurrections in recent memory. The Bulldogs went 1-11 the year prior to his arrival with zero wins against FBS opponents. They already have locked up double-digit wins in each of his first two seasons at the helm.
They have been even more impressive this year. Their only non-conference loss came when Minnesota managed a goal-line stand in the final minutes, and their only conference defeat saw Boise State rally from a two-touchdown deficit in the second half. However, Fresno State avenged that defeat by beating the Broncos in the Mountain West title game after coming up short against Boise State in last season's championship clash.
The Bulldogs will need another complete performance in order to cover against an Arizona State club that has thrived in an underdog role.
The Sun Devils have won three times outright as underdogs this season, pulling off upsets against Michigan State (-4.5), USC (-3) and Utah (-7.5). They also covered twice in Pac-12 play as road underdogs against Washington and Oregon. Their fast and physical and defense has proven capable of getting stops against high-powered opponents.
Senior quarterback Manny Wilkins has completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,896 yards and 19 touchdowns. He'll be without star receiver N'Keal Harry, who is skipping this game to focus on the NFL Draft, but still has plenty of talent around him.
We can tell you Hunt is leaning toward the under, but his much stronger play is on the side. He has scoured every aspect of this matchup and unearthed the critical x-factor that causes one side of the spread to hit hard. He's only sharing what it is, and who to back, at SportsLine.
Who covers the 2018 Las Vegas Bowl? And what critical x-factor makes one side of the spread a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to jump on Saturday, from an accomplished handicapper who's hitting 80 percent of his picks involving these teams, and find out.
