Sun Devil Stadium – Tempe, AZ
Kickoff: Saturday, 10:00 p.m. ET
Line: Arizona State -4.0, Total: 79.5

Two electrifying offenses will take the field when Arizona State hosts Texas Tech on Saturday.

Both Texas Tech and Arizona State are two teams that many knew would have no trouble putting up points this season and they did not disappoint in their season openers either. The Red Raiders were 38-point favorites against Stephen F Austin last week and won 69-17. The team racked up 758 yards of total offense, and 633 of those yards came through the air. The Sun Devils, meanwhile, won 44-13 as 27-point favorites against Northern Arizona last weekend. Arizona State did most of its damage on the ground, rushing for 276 yards on 46 carries. The team will be hoping to find success in the rushing game once again on Saturday. These two teams last faced one another in 2013 and the Red Raiders won that game 37-23 as 17-point home favorites. In the only other meeting since 1992, the Sun Devils emerged victorious with a 31-13 victory as six-point home favorites in 1999. One trend worth noting is the fact that Texas Tech is 6-2 ATS after playing a non-conference game under Kliff Kingsbury. The Sun Devils, meanwhile, are an impressive 6-2 ATS off a home blowout win by 28 points or more under Todd Graham.

With QB Patrick Mahomes under center, Texas Tech had the fourth-best passing offense in the country last season. He threw for 4,653 yards, 36 touchdowns and just 15 picks a year ago, and he has only gotten better since then. In last week’s 69-17 victory over Stephen F Austin, the junior threw for 483 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also added 57 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries rushing as well. If the Red Raiders are going to win on Saturday then Mahomes is going to need to have another huge game. Both teams are going to score a ton of points, but it’s imperative that Mahomes avoids making mistakes in this one. Defensively, the run defense is going to be really important in this one. Texas Tech was solid in that department in the opener, allowing just 58 rushing yards on 35 carries. The talent on that Stephen F. Austin roster is, however, inferior compared to Arizona State. The Red Raiders are going to need guys to step it up against this Sun Devils team. One guy that should be ready to play well is DL Ondre Pipkins. Pipkins is a highly touted player that had five tackles in the opener. It’d be big if he shows up in this one. The guys in the secondary will also need to make sure they are on their toes, as Manny Wilkins is a quarterback that likes to take off himself. He can beat them with his legs, so the corners and safeties must be ready to play the run.

As previously mentioned, QB Manny Wilkins is a dangerous offensive player and it didn’t take him long to show that last weekend. In his first start for the Sun Devils, Wilkins went 20-for-27 with 180 yards through the air and added 89 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He did, however, fail to find the end zone with a pass and also threw a pick in the game. If Arizona State is going to win this game then he is going to need to make some nice passes in this game. There is a good chance that the Sun Devils fall behind at some point in this game and the only way to catch up to the Red Raiders might be to throw. If that isn’t the case then that would mean that RB Demario Richard did more than just his job. Richard rushed for 1,098 yards and seven touchdowns in 2015, and he had 78 yards and a touchdown in the first game of the year. If Richard can get it going early then it’s possible there will be less pressure on Wilkins to make plays. On the other side of the field, DB Kareem Orr will be anchoring a secondary that is going to be in for a long night. Orr had six picks in 2015 and he’ll need to make a bunch of plays against a passing offense like Texas Tech’s this weekend. If he and the rest of the guys in the secondary aren’t playing competently then this will be a blowout in favor of the Red Raiders.