Saturday, Dec. 7
12:05 p.m. Eastern, 9:05 a.m. Pacific
ABC
No one expected this. No one predicted this. No one thought this was possible in late August. Iowa State and Arizona State were not picked to finish in the top five of the Big 12 Conference this season. The top five in the Big 12 preseason polls consisted of the two Kansas-based schools, Utah, Arizona, and Oklahoma State. None of those teams came even remotely close to winning the Big 12. Colorado and BYU joined Iowa State and Arizona State in what became a four-team scramble for a conference championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. ISU and ASU won that four-team race and now play the game of their lives, the game which will send one team to the big stage of the playoff.
The 2024 Big 12 confounded everyone from start to finish. Teams expected to be great were mediocre or worse. Teams expected to be mediocre or worse turned out to be the championship contenders in the league. Now the jockeying for position is over. One game remains with a supreme prize on the table. A plot twist which adds to the uniqueness of this game is that neither Iowa State nor Arizona State have played many of these noon Eastern time games this season. They have typically played night games, sometimes late afternoon games. Iowa State played a night game last weekend against Kansas State. Arizona State played in the 4 p.m. Eastern slot versus Arizona. This game will start just after 11 a.m. in Arlington at JerryWorld. Will one team fail to hit the alarm button and start the game in a fog? We don’t have a prediction on that, but we are mentioning that variable because this feels like a game which truly could break in any direction.
Iowa State Cyclones-Arizona State Sun Devils Odds
Spread: Iowa State +2.5 (-120), Arizona State -2.5 (-102)
Total: 49.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: Iowa State +106
Hear T.J. and Gary go over the Big 12 title game and the chances for an Iowa State upset on the “3 Dog Thursday Podcast” by clicking play below,
Late Season Big 12 Chaos
The Big 12 has been a nightmare to bet on this season. It has become very hard to know what to expect each week. Now we have a neutral-site game with maximum pressure, and bettors are offered the challenge of determining which team will rise or fall.
The challenge of betting on this game is elevated by the fact that Arizona State will not have the services of receiver Jordyn Tyson, a player who gave ASU a prominent playmaking presence in the passing game, which thereby took pressure off the Sun Devils’ best player, running back Cam Skattebo. While it’s true that Skattebo is the Devils’ main offensive cog and the top reason Arizona State has risen to the top of the Big 12 this season, ASU needed something in the passing game to diversify the offense and keep defenses honest. Tyson was a big reason for ASU developing enough balance to attack defenses from multiple angles. With Tyson gone, Iowa State might have a better chance of containing Skattebo. If the Cyclones can achieve that, they probably will win.
What’s the betting angle here? Flip a coin … which means this is exactly the kind of game you should pass on, at least in terms of a pregame bet. A live play based on game flow would be more advisable if you want to even make any kind of bet on this contest.