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Motel 6 Cactus Bowl Odds & Prediction

By Mike Marteny

Oct 29, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; General view of an Oregon Ducks helmet during the first half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 29, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; General view of an Oregon Ducks helmet during the first half against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here is the pick against the spread for the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl!

There isn’t much left of this college football season. The calendar has struck 2016, and the National Championship game is set. That means only two more college football games for this season. Have your Bowl Mania picks been destroyed by upsets? Luckily you can still find places to play against the spread! I will continue with my picks until the very end. I am doing well in the points system, but I think I am struggling against the spread during bowl time. I am about six games behind on my DVR, so maybe it gets better!

More from College Football Odds

In case you missed how the point scale works, here is a brief rundown:

5. A lock. I am comfortable making a sizable wager on this game.

4. Very confident. Not quite a lock, but I am comfortable making a decent sized wager on it.

3. Middle of the road. Good enough that I would make a small wager on it.

2. Could go either way. So much so that I wouldn’t bet on it.

1. Stay away from these.

Just in case you missed any:

Now on to the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl!

West Virginia(-1.5) vs. Arizona State at Phoenix, AZ(2):

West Virginia(7-5, 4-5):

Wins: Georgia Southern(44-0), vs. Liberty(41-17), vs. Maryland(45-6), vs. Texas Tech(31-26), vs. Texas(38-20), at Kansas(49-0), vs. Iowa State(30-6)

Losses: at Oklahoma(24-44), vs. Oklahoma State(26-33), at Baylor(38-62), at TCU(10-40), at Kansas State(23-24)

Record vs. bowl teams: 2-5

Arizona State(6-6, 4-5):

Wins: vs. Cal Poly(35-21), vs. New Mexico(34-10), at UCLA(38-23), vs. Colorado(48-23), vs. Washington(27-17), vs. Arizona(52-37)

Losses: vs. Texas A&M(17-38), vs. USC(14-42), at Utah(18-34), vs. Oregon(55-61), at Washington State(24-38), at California(46-48)

Record vs. bowl teams: 4-6

West Virginia looked really good is  most wins, and really bad in all of their losses – even the one point loss to Kansas State. Which defense will show up? They were able to contain the high powered Texas Tech offense, and the option attack of Georgia Southern, but they had all sorts of problems with Baylor and Oklahoma. The bad news for West Virginia is that Arizona State has a pretty high powered offense as well.

Arizona State’s defense has been a sore spot all season long. There is a clear pattern here though. They can’t get involved in a shootout with West Virginia. Those have not ended well. The Arizona score reflects that, but the game wasn’t really that close. West Virginia runs a balanced offense, which could be to Arizona State’s favor. They had problems with one dimensional offenses, which is rather unusual.

This has all the makings of a high scoring game, which favors West Virginia. Then again, this is practically a home game for Arizona State. I’m not sure why this game is tipping in West Virginia’s favor in Vegas. Maybe West Virginia has the better team, but Arizona State has the better players, and is practically at home. The Big 12 has been raked over the coals in bowl season. I doubt that ends here.

My pick: Arizona State

Next: The Picks For Every Bowl Game!

Stay tuned for the pick of the National Championship Game against the spread!