2024 College Football Season: Arizona State Sun Devils Preview & Odds
Sun Devils Could Have a Long Year in Big 12
With the Pac-12 (essentially) no more, Kenny Dillingham’s Arizona State Sun Devils will head to the Big 12 for the 2024 season in what could be another rough campaign in Tempe.
The Sun Devils went 3-9 in Dillingham’s (the former offensive coordinator at Oregon) first year with his alma mater and it wasn’t much of a surprise considering how bare the the cupboard was.
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Expectations are only slightly higher in 2024 but the move to such a tough conference doesn’t bode well for the 2024 Arizona State Sun Devils stats.
Arizona State Sun Devils At A Glance
| Odds to Win | Opening Odds | Current Odds |
| Championship | +60000 | +60000 |
| Conference | +10000 | +10000 |
| Regular Season Win Total | 4.5 (o+124, u-152) | 4.5 (o+140, u-170) |
Another Transition Year for Sun Devils
Anytime a college football program has to deal with a coaching change and conference move in the span of two years, that team will — in all likelihood — have a tough go of it for awhile.
Now, for Arizona State, consider that they’re moving from a diminished Pac-12 into an incredibly strong Big 12. No wonder making the 2024 college football playoffs looks like a pipe dream for the Sun Devils.
The main goal after a three-win season in which a collection of four quarterbacks threw seven passing touchdowns and 13 interceptions is to figure out who can play under center.
- Transfers Sam Leavitt (Michigan State) and Jeff Sims (Nebraska) are in as is the returning Trenton Bourguet, giving Dillingham a bunch of options.
The preseason expectations (4.5 wins) haven’t changed from last season to this one as any second-season bump Dillingham can hope to have may be offset by the Sun Devils having to adjust to the high talent level of the Big 12.
On the bright side, leading rushers Cam Skattebo and DeCarlos Brooks are back for an Arizona State team which was one of the lowest-scoring groups in the FBS a year ago at under 18 points.
The defense wasn’t great shakes either but improving the offense is priority No. 1 for Dillingham.
No Title In The Cards For ASU
The 2024 Arizona State Sun Devils stats would have to dramatically improve across the board just for this college football team to consider dreaming about the first official national championship in school history.
Dillingham will need time to bring this program back to the national prominence it had in the 1970s, mid-1980s and mid-1990s. The hope is an alum like Dillingham will be committed to hanging around through the bad times and not jumping ship when the going is good.
Big 12 Is Loaded
- At +10000, the college football odds for the Sun Devils to win the Big 12 in their initial season are rightfully very low.
The losses of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC certainly dealt a major blow to the conference but the additions of Arizona State, Arizona, Utah and Colorado this season will certainly help the conference.
The inclusion of Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and UCF before last year was important for the Big 12 to stay large but Utah and Arizona joining really helps from a competitive standpoint.
That doesn’t do a whole lot for the Sun Devils right now as they’re expected to finish in the 12-to-16 range of the conference this season. There are just so many teams in the mix and Arizona State, with its questions at quarterback, faces a long road to avoid the cellar.
Official 🔱 #ForksUp /// #Onward
— Arizona State Sun Devils (@TheSunDevils) August 2, 2024
Still, Five Wins Are Doable
The Sun Devils should win more than the three NCAAF games they did in 2023 but it would be false optimism to expect a big bump.
Last season was a disaster in every way but that’s often the case with a new coach as well as the fact that Arizona State was a lame duck in a soon-to-be-dead conference. Their only wins were against FCS Southern Utah, mediocre Washington State and decent UCLA.
The schedule doesn’t break well for Arizona State this NCAA football season as they open up with tough non-conference home games against Wyoming and Mississippi State and then a road game against solid mid-major Texas State, which won eight games in 2023.
The 2024 Arizona State Sun Devils stats won’t be helped by the fact that they have NCAAF games against preseason ranked teams in Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Utah and Arizona as well as UCF. Even BYU and Cincinnati are expected to be much improved.
- There are no gimmies on this slate, so while the over 4.5 wins provides great value at +140, it doesn’t feel too likely to hit.
You’re Talking Playoffs?
While being in the Big 12 will help Arizona State’s goal of eventually making the college football playoff at some point, that hope is more predicated on future Sun Devils teams.
It would require a miracle for Arizona State to make that leap at the moment.
Now, that isn’t to say that Arizona State can’t surprise some people. Dillingham is very well-regarded, he had a decent offseason in the transfer portal and he has some nice backfield playmakers who showed promise last year.
However, most college football picks against the spread will be taking the Sun Devils’ opponents at least early on before Arizona State can show that it is more than the doormat it has been since 2021.
For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
