Arizona State rolled into Manhattan, Kansas, on Saturday night and took care of business in a huge conference matchup. Sportsbooks had the spread of this game set at 7.5 in favor of Kansas State; analytics proved to be useful in predicting the outcome. The Sun Devils had been 7-2 against the spread so far this season. ASU took full advantage of several mistakes made by Kansas State in the 24-14 victory, making a big leap toward their conference championship goal.
In the first half of the game, ASU dominated the Wildcats; they poured on 21 straight points and held Kansas State scoreless. Quarterback Sam Leavitt and receiver Jordyn Tyson were an unstoppable duo. Leavitt threw for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns; Tyson was on the receiving end of 12 of 21 completions with 2 touchdown catches for 176 yards. K-State had 2 botched snaps on field goal attempts, 2 interceptions, and 1 fumble after a catch. The turnovers that Arizona State forced and capitalized on gave them significant momentum; Kansas State dug themselves into a hole that was too big to crawl out of.
Arizona State’s future
Before the start of the season, Arizona State was picked to finish last in the Big 12. In the updated standings following week 12, they are sitting in 3rd, trailing only Colorado and BYU. ASU now has a much better shot at playing for a conference championship. This Saturday, they come back home to host the team at the top of the conference, BYU. We have seen the caliber of teams that the Sun Devils are capable of beating; the question is, can they continue to perform at this level and knock off another top-ranked opponent?
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