Week 3 of the college football season is upon us, with Arizona State facing off against Texas State. Heartland College Sports has your predictions, previews and betting odds ahead of the matchup.
Game Info
Thursday, September 12th, 6:30pm CST UFCU Stadium, San Marcos, TX
Television: ESPN
Records: Arizona State (2-0); Texas State (2-0)
Last week: ASU 30, MS 23, TX 49, UTSA 10
Series History: First Encounter
Last Meeting: N/A
Fun fact: Texas State head coach GJ Kine is one of the top prospects in college football and has ties to the Big 12. He served as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UCF under Gus Malzahn for the 2021 season. Last year, Kine led the Bobcats to their first FBS bowl game, a 45-21 win over Rice University in the ServPro First Responder Bowl.
Arizona State vs Texas State betting lines and odds
Opening Line: Arizona State (-2.5)
Over/Under: 58.5
Main characters
Arizona State Sun Devils
RB Cam Skattebö
Fresh off the best rushing performance of his career, Arizona State running back Cam Scatterbo will certainly be a player to watch when the Sun Devils offense takes the field. Last week in a 30-23 win over Mississippi State, Scatterbo was named AP National Player of the Week after rushing for 262 yards (7.9 yards per carry) on an FBS-high 33 carries. Scatterbo will be a 220-pound Swiss Army knife for Arizona State and will be all over the field for ASU.
LB Keyshawn Elliott
Through the first two games of the 2024 season, Keyshawn Elliott has been a pleasant surprise for the Sun Devils defense. After recording 111 tackles at New Mexico State in 2023, Elliott is off to a strong start at Arizona State, recording 12 tackles in his first two games, an interception in a Week 1 win over Wyoming and a sack last week against Mississippi State. This week, Elliott and company will face their toughest test yet, but he should once again be one of the Sun Devils’ most active defenders.
Texas Bobcats
QB Jordan McCloud
Texas State defeated UTSA 49-10 in Week 2, marking the team’s first win over the Roadrunners. Much of that was down to quarterback Jordan McCloud, who was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week after completing 18 of 27 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns (two rushing, two passing). McCloud has been the most dynamic quarterback ASU has faced so far this season and will be a big test for the Sun Devils defense.
DE Tummis Adeleye
A former five-star freshman and one of the most promising players in the 2021 class, Tammis Adeleye signed with Texas A&M out of high school and transferred to Michigan State in 2023 before joining the Bobcats this offseason. He has played in nine career games at A&M and Michigan State, but has appeared in the first two games in San Marcos and already leads the Bobcats in sacks (2.0). Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 301 pounds, Adeleye is an exceptional athlete and a player with great potential. If he performs well at Texas State this season, he could be a key name in the transfer portal next cycle.
Main storyline
Arizona State Sun Devils
What will ASU do on the road? After a strong 2-0 start at home, Arizona State will be playing on the road for the first time this season. Last year under Coach Dillingham, the Sun Devils were 1-3 on the road but were competitive in all but one game (a 55-3 loss at Utah). Now they must do what they couldn’t do last year: play two straight games away from Tempe. Texas State plans to team up with a “blackout” theme with its fans this week and is viewed as one of the Group of 5 contenders for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Can ASU withstand the pressure of winning on the road and go 3-0?
Texas Bobcats
How will Texas State’s rush defense hold up? The Bobcats’ rush defense is among the best in the country through two games, allowing just 66.5 yards per game, which, while impressive, was against teams like Lamar and UTSA. After two weeks, Arizona State ranks seventh in the country with 293.5 yards rushing per game. Expect the Sun Devils to try to control the tempo of the game with their rushing attack and set up Sam Leavitt for play-action pass scenarios. Will the Bobcats’ defense be strong enough to force ASU out of that game plan?
Prediction: Arizona State 33, Texas State 27
Kenny Dillingham probably doesn’t get enough credit for how good a football coach he is, but hopefully after this game that will start to change. The program he took over in Tempe was set up to fail. A roster that featured players like Jayden Daniels and Ricky Pearsall just a few seasons ago is now cut down to just the stars, and on top of that, the Sun Devils were knocked out of the postseason right before the season started. Still, Arizona State plays competitive, tough football, and that’s reflected in 2024 so far.
The Sun Devils expected to struggle early on in their first road trip of the season, but Coach Dillingham rallied his team in the second half to win tough games against strong opponents and post an incredible 3-0 record heading into Big 12 play.
