CFB Daytime Destroyer
(NCAAF) Arkansas State vs. Kansas State, 09/12/2020 12:00 PM, Score: 35 - 31
Point Spread: 13.00 | -110.00 Arkansas State (Away)
Result: Win
#427 ASA 8* PLAY ON Arkansas State +13 over Kansas State, Saturday at 12 PM ET

Arkansas State is off a loss at Memphis last week by 13 points but they were only outgained by 78 yards in that game. It was a bit of a deceiving final score and they are particularly dangerous on offense because they have the option of two solid quarterbacks in Bonner and Hatcher. Both saw some time under center last week and, though RB Murray did not play last week, their top 3 running backs in that game totaled 136 yards on 25 carries and were led by senior RB Jamal Jones. The QB's combined to throw for nearly 300 yards and though Bonner threw two picks in that game a repeat is unlikely. Bonner had 10 TDs against just 1 INT last season. The fact is the Red Wolves have a very talented and veteran group on offense and that is what makes them especially dangerous as a big dog. Arkansas State is a hard team to put away and their experience factor gives them a huge edge here as they return one of the more experienced teams in the nation while Kansas State ranks as one of the least experienced FBS programs this year. The Wildcats are the better team defensively when comparing these teams. However, on the other side of the ball, Kansas State lost nearly all of its starting offense. They return a solid QB in Skylar Thompson but nearly all the other starters from last season's offensive unit are gone and that includes the entire offensive line! New offensive lines generally take awhile to play their best together and that will surely be the case here especially with how disjointed the 2020 offseason was for these players. Adding to that factor is a big but potentially overlooked situation and that is the fact that Arkansas State was able to get in 11 of their spring practices to get ready for this season while Kansas State did not have a single practice in the spring. This is a Wildcats team that is just 6-5 their last 11 games and only 2 of those wins came by more than 7 points (and 1 of those victories came by just 10 points) and now they're being asked to win this one by more than 10 points. This is asking a lot when one considers the Red Wolves also have the game in hand edge too as a result of playing last week. We like Arkansas State here.