Mike Bercovici’s time is now. After biding his time for three years, the senior quarterback will finally get his chance to lead the No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils, of whom big things are expected this year. However, he’ll have his hands full in his very first start of the year as Arizona State heads to Houston to face the Texas A&M Aggies, who could just have a defense to match that awesome offense this season.
Get a full breakdown on this big-time Week 1 matchup with our preview below. Meanwhile, check out more Pac-12-related previews with Arkansas State vs. USC and Eastern Washington vs. Oregon.
[sc:NCAAFArticles ]Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Texas A&M Aggies Preview
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston (neutral field)
When: Saturday, September 5, 3:30 PM ET
Line: Arizona State Sun Devils (+3) vs. Texas A&M Aggies (-3) – view all NCAA Football lines
Betting on the Arizona State Sun Devils
With two 10-win seasons in the last two years, expectations have risen for head coach Todd Graham and the Arizona State Sun Devils. Expectations are also high for incoming starting quarterback, senior Mike Bercovici, after his very promising cameos last season.
[sc:NCAA240banner ]After Taylor Kelly went down to injury last season, Bercovici started during the Sun Devils’ toughest stretch of their schedule – vs. UCLA, at USC and vs. Stanford.
Bercovici stepped up big time, as he threw for 488 yards, three touchdowns and two picks in a 62-27 blowout loss to the Bruins. He then followed that up with 510 yards and five touchdowns to lead the team to a big 38-34 road win over the Trojans. Arizona State also beat Stanford with Bercovici completing close to 70 percent of his passes.
Although top wideout Jaelen Strong is gone, versatile playmaker D.J. Foster returns for his senior year to be Bercovici’s main weapon along with UCLA transfer Devin Lucien. Foster, who had 1,769 yards and 12 touchdowns while playing both running back and wideout last year, and Bercovici should rack up the yards against an Aggies defense that gave up 450.8 total yards per game, comfortably the worst in the SEC last year.
Arizona State’s defense will miss top pass rusher Davon Durant, who was dismissed over the offseason, but the Sun Devils should still be quite formidable against the pass. Graham will still dial up those blitzes to destabilize Aggies quarterback Kyle Allen. Meanwhile, their back seven is deep and experienced, which should help them slow down A&M’s army of receivers.
Betting on the Texas A&M Aggies
After the early promise of Kenny “Trill” Hill, who led Texas A&M to a 5-0 start, the Aggies’ 2014 season quickly went off the rails. They went just 3-3 in their last six games to finish a rather disappointing 8-5 (5-8 against the spread).
Kyle Allen replaced Hill as the starting quarterback for the last five games. Although he wasn’t spectacular throughout, he did go 19-of-29 for 277 yards and four touchdowns to lead the team to a big 41-38 road win at Auburn in just his second start. He also threw for a career-high 294 yards and four scores in their 45-37 AutoZone Liberty Bowl win over West Virginia.
Now a sophomore, Allen has officially won the starting QB job for the unranked Aggies over five-star recruit Kyler Murray. Allen will have one of the deeper receiving corps in the nation at his disposal, with four of last year’s five top receivers returning.
Junior Josh Reynolds – who led the team with 842 yards and a school-record 13 touchdowns – and the appropriately-named Speedy Noil will be excellent deep threats who can explode for big plays if they can time an Arizona State blitz just right.
Everyone knows by now that Kevin Sumlin’s offense can put points against even the toughest SEC defenses. A&M averaged 35.2 points per game last year (fifth in the SEC), which was actually down from the 44 points the Aggies put up in the previous two years.
This year, though, the Aggies could have a defense that might finally complement their potentially explosive offense. Former LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis now takes charge of a unit that will be headlined by pass rusher Myles Garrett, who set the SEC freshman record for sacks last season with 11.5. Look for Garrett to cause a lot of chaos against an Arizona State O-line that will be breaking in two new tackles.
Writer’s Prediction
Texas A&M’s defense can’t make the jump up to respectability by Week 1 as Bercovici and the Sun Devils pull the upset over the Aggies, 42-35. Create a betting account now and cash in on all the inevitable college football upsets all season long.
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