Point spread for Cincinnati-Arizona State game jumps after Sam Leavitt news
Winning on the road in the Big 12 is tough.
It's even tougher without your starting quarterback.
Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham informed the media at practice on Wednesday that starting quarterback Sam Leavitt is out for Saturday's game at Cincinnati. Leavitt injured his ribs in the second quarter of Arizona State's 27-19 win over No. 16 Utah on Friday.
Leavitt briefly left the game, but returned to play the entire second half. He was clearly not himself, though, as he did not have a single rushing attempt after the injury. He finished 11-of-18 for 154 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He rushed six times for 22 yards, all in the first half.
Backup Jeff Sims will start in Leavitt's place. A fifth-year senior, Sims played his first three seasons at Georgia Tech, starting 23 games. He transferred to Nebraska before the 2023 season, then transferred to Arizona State to compete for the starting job. Leavitt beat out Sims in preseason training camp.
With Leavitt's injury news the betting line for the Cincinnati game has moved again. Cincinnati started the week as 2.5-point favorites, then moved to 3.5-point favorites on Tuesday. After Leavitt's injury news the line jumped to Cincinnati by 6.5 points.
Here are the updated betting odds on Saturday's Arizona State at Cincinnati Big 12 football game from FanDuel Sportsbook:
Arizona State at Cincinnati Betting Odds
Moneyline: Arizona State +188, Cincinnati -230
Spread: Cincinnati -6.5 (-110)
Over/Under: 49.5
Kickoff time: Saturday, Oct. 19 at 9 a.m. MST/Noon ET
TV Channel: ESPN+
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.