Look for a quite game from Quinn Ewers against the Sun Devils.
The second game of the 2024 college football playoffs kicks off on New Year’s Day when the No. 5 ranked Texas Longhorns (12-2) take on the No. 4 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils (11-2) Wednesday in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
This will be Texas’ second trip to Georgia this month after the Longhorns faced off against the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship game earlier in December. Besides a second loss to that conference opponent, Texas has not lost to another team this year.
For Arizona State, the trip to Georgia will be the first in more than a decade. The Sun Devils were a surprise entrant into the 2024 college football playoff, earning the nod after knocking off Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship game earlier this month.
Can Texas return to the college football semifinals for the second straight season, or will the Sun Devils take down the Longhorns? We’ll cover that and our three best player prop bets below.
Earlier this season, Texas quarterback Qwinn Ewers was being discussed as a possible Heisman candidate. The junior signal-caller had a strong season, completing 66.5 percent of his passes for 2,867 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
While he wasn’t the reason the team won 12 games this year, he certainly did not hurt them in most games, either. Expect him to continue this trend as a strong game manager and fall beneath the 251.5-yard mark needed to cover this player prop bet.
Arizona State’s offense is powered by running back Cam Skattebo. The 5-foot-11 senior athlete has 1,568 rushing yards on 263 carries, earning 19 touchdowns for the Sun Devils on the ground. He’s also an effective receiving option for Arizona State, catching 37 passes for 506 yards and three more scores this season.
Against the Longhorns, Arizona State will look to get him involved early and often. Texas shut down Clemson’s ability to run the football in their opening-round matchup, forcing the Tigers to rely on the passing game. Expect a similar game plan against the Sun Devils, preventing Skattebo from reaching this player prop mark.
Texas has a future NFL player in tight end Gunnar Helm. The 6-foot-5 senior has caught 55 passes for 688 yards and six touchdowns, stats that rank either first or second on the Longhorns in 2024.
Against Arizona State, expect Helm to finish with more than 45.5 receiving yards. The Sun Devils’ weakness is the interior passing game as teams have exploited open looks against Arizona State’s aggressive defense.
This is not to suggest that the Sun Devils will win this contest. Picking Arizona State to cover is a nod to suggest oddsmakers are selling Arizona State short. I agree Texas is the better team and should win this game.
Still, the Sun Devils beat four ranked opponents this year, and good fortune seems to be on their side. I expect Arizona State will keep this game close throughout, meaning the Sun Devils and the points for the Peach Bowl are the safest bet.
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