Free Live Odds - Scores and Odds - Sports News - Sports Information - Live Scores - Sports Statistics - Sports Articles - Sports Standings - Live Scor

FACTS & STATS: Site: Martin Stadium (35,117) -- Pullman, Washington. Television: Versus. Home Record: ASU 5-0, WSU 2-2. Away Record: ASU 1-3, WSU 1-4. Neutral Record: ASU 0-0, WSU 0-0. Conference Record: ASU 4-2, WSU 1-5. Series Record: Arizona State leads, 23-12-2.

GAME NOTES: Coming off a tough loss on the road, the Arizona State Sun Devils head north to take on the Washington State Cougars in a Pac 12 Conference clash at Martin Stadium in Pullman.

Arizona State fell out of the national rankings following last weekend's 29-28 loss at UCLA in the final minute. Still, at 4-2 in league play the Sun Devils are tied with USC and UCLA atop the Pac 12 South Division, and they beat USC earlier this season. However, they have dropped three of their four road contests on the year, a trend they'll need to reverse this weekend if they hope to remain in contention for the league crown.

Meanwhile, Washington State has lost five straight games since conference play began more than a month ago. Last weekend, the Cougars closed out the road portion of their schedule with a 30-7 setback at California. They'll put the wraps on the regular season with home games against Arizona State and Utah before facing cross-state rival Washington at a neutral site.

Arizona State owns a 23-12-2 advantage in the head-to-head series with Washington State, which includes a 42-0 shutout of the Cougars last year in Tempe.

ASU quarterback Brock Osweiler rallied his team back from a nine-point, second-half deficit with a touchdown pass in the third quarter and a TD run in the fourth to take the lead. Then, after UCLA scored the go-ahead touchdown with 49 seconds remaining in regulation, Osweiler promptly moved the offense into field goal range, only to watch kicker Alex Garoutte miss his third attempt of the day, this time from 46 yards out as time expired. And so, despite a valiant effort by Arizona State, the end result was a loss that dropped the team into a three-way tie atop the South Division. Junior running back Cameron Marshall ran for his 24th career rushing touchdown against UCLA and finished the game with a personal-best 168 yards on 27 carries, marking his third 100-yard game of the year and fifth of his career. The team is 4-1 when Marshall goes over 100 yards on the ground. His 13 touchdowns this season are a career-high, as are his 800 rushing yards, which have provided a nice complement to coach Dennis Erickson's vaunted aerial attack, which ranks 19th in the nation (291.1 ypg).

While Arizona State has made some strides defensively in recent weeks, this unit still has some work to do. For example, during UCLA's final drive the Sun Devils allowed the Bruins to convert a 3rd-and-29 from the ASU 39. That conversion kept the drive alive and opened the door for the decisive touchdown a few plays later. In addition to their late breakdown, the Sun Devils had some trouble stopping the run, as UCLA racked up 220 yards and three scores on the ground. However, they were able to force a couple of turnovers. And after forcing only one turnover in the first two games, the Sun Devil defense has come up with 26 takeaways over the last seven contests. Their 13 interceptions have already eclipsed last year's total of 10, while the team's +14 turnover ratio leads the Pac-12 and is fourth-best in the nation. The Sun Devils also wreaked havoc in the backfield against UCLA, totaling 11 plays of negative yardage or no gain. Considering ASU's struggles against the run, this unit needs to continue getting penetration into the backfield and forcing turnovers.

Fortunately for the Sun Devils, Washington State enters the weekend with the nation's 100th-ranked rushing offense (115.2 ypg). The running game has gone by the wayside in favor of the passing attack engineered by quarterback Marshall Lobbestael, who is averaging 247.9 passing yards per tilt to rank among the national leaders. While Lobbestael has put up solid numbers, he often faces heavy pressure as opponents are able to key on passing situations. Last week against Cal, he was sacked three times and hit a number of others, finishing with only 155 yards on 15-of-37 passing. With rainy conditions throughout the game, WSU was unable to lean on its running game, which netted only 69 yards (2.0 ypc) on the day. The Cougars also did not help themselves in the penalty department, as they found themselves with more penalty yards than total yards early in the second half.

The Cougars have ranked near the bottom of the conference in virtually every statistical defensive category over the course of the season. One of the biggest problem areas has been against the pass, as the team ranks 111th nationally in pass efficiency defense. However, after giving up more than 40 points in each of their previous three games, the Cougars were able to hold Cal to 30 points on the Golden Bears' home turf. They also held Cal to 3-of-11 on third downs, although the Bears came away with touchdowns on all three of their trips to the red zone. And with weather conditions working against both teams' passing attacks, Cal shifted its focus to the ground and accumulated 288 rushing yards (6.0 ypc) and three TDs. That shift minimized the impact by players like safety Deone Bucannon (three interceptions) and cornerback Damante Horton (four INTs), both of whom have excelled in pass coverage this season.

After losing a game they very easily could have won, look for the Sun Devils to come out swinging in this one. They should be able to put plenty of points on the board, while the defense looks to create some turnovers against the Cougars' pass-heavy attack.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Arizona State 41, Washington State 21