ESPN FPI predicts Arizona State football vs. Cincinnati winner
Despite a convincing win over then-No. 16 Utah on Friday, it's clear the Arizona State football team will continue to be underdogs for the foreseeable future.
And that's probably just fine with head coach Kenny Dillingham.
The early betting odds for the Sun Devils' Big 12 road game at Cincinnati on Saturday favored the Bearcats by 2.5 points. On Monday the spread rose to 3 points.
FPI Predictions for Arizona State
ESPN's updated Football Power Index (FPI), which is "meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season" does not like Arizona State's chances this weekend. The ESPN FPI gives ASU a 38.3% chance to beat Cincinnati.
The FPI predicts two more wins for the Sun Devils - at home vs. UCF and the regular season finale on the road at Arizona. Here's a look at how the FPI predicts the remainder of Arizona State's games this season:
- at Cincinnati - 38.3% chance to win
- at Oklahoma State - 46.8%
- UCF - 62.1%
- at Kansas State - 24%
- BYU - 49.2%
- at Arizona - 55.1%
Arizona State is 1-1 on the road this season, with a win over Texas State and a loss to Texas Tech. The Sun Devils obviously have a lot to prove, starting this Saturday at Cincinnati.
With a conference record of 2-1, the FPI does not give the Sun Devils much of a chance of winning the Big 12 this season. Here are the latest FPI predictions for the Big 12 race:
- Iowa State - 41.1%
- BYU - 18.8%
- Kansas State - 14.9%
- Texas Tech - 8.8%
- Colorado - 5.4%
- West Virginia - 3.3%
- Cincinnati - 2.8%
- Arizona State - 2.3%
- Utah - 1.0%
- UCF - 0.7%
More Arizona State & Big 12 analysis
Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.