NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Saturday, Jan. 2, 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Stadium: Chase Field
Line: West Virginia (-2)
The Cactus Bowl doesn’t provide the most entertaining matchup (on paper) Jan. 2 has ever seen, but West Virginia vs. Arizona State is still football, so no complaints here.
The Mountaineers enter with the better record at 7-5, and the Sun Devils enter with a 6-6 record.
There have been plenty of disappointing teams in the 2015 season, and Arizona State is right near the top. This is a squad that was supposed to compete for the Pac-12 title. It finished with a conference record of 4-5, which isn’t horrible, but it definitely isn’t worthy of a conference championship game appearance.
Meanwhile, West Virginia also finished with a 4-5 conference record. The Big 12 was stacked in 2015, and it had a team in the College Football Playoff to prove it.
The Mountaineers’ biggest wins on the season: Texas Tech, Texas.
The Sun Devils’ biggest wins on the season: UCLA, Washington.
As is typically the case, all eyes should be on the two quarterbacks playing in this clash, Skyler Howard and Mike Bercovici. If all goes according to plan, both QBs — and teams in general — will be firing on all cylinders. Both teams are averaging over 30 points per game, after all.
That said, this stat could end up being the biggest difference in this bowl: West Virginia is only allowing 23.2 points per game, while Arizona State is giving up a whopping 32.7 points per contest.
PREDICTION: West Virginia 33, Arizona State 27
Trevor Lowry is a Content Associate at www.RantSports.com. If you’re a tweeter feel free to follow him @TheTrevorLowry, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
Share 
