Will Cam Skattebo play vs. UCF?
To borrow Kenny Dillingham's words, the Arizona State football team is "playing with house money now."
At 6-2, the Sun Devils are bowl eligible and have already exceeded their projected win total of 4.5. Picked to finish last in the Big 12, ASU still has an outside shot of earning a spot in the Big 12 football championship game.
The centerpiece of their success has been all-everything senior running back Cam Skattebo, who entered the Heisman Trophy conversation after his eye-popping performance against Oklahoma State.
The Sun Devils are preparing to play without Skattebo on Saturday vs. UCF (4-5, 2-4), and the oddsmakers are paying very close attention to his status. Dillingham said Skattebo is "doubtful to questionable" to play and it will be a game time decision.
"He's actually doubtful to questionable for the game this week," Dillingham said earlier this week. "So we'll see how that transpires. He's not going to practice this week. ... We're gonna do whatever is in the best interest of him .... do whatever we can to get him healthy and get him back as soon as possible."
ASU is currently favored by 2.5 points over a UCF team that has lost five of its last six games.
If Skattebo doesn't play, Kyson Brown and DeCarlos Brooks will attempt to fill his void. Brown is coming off the best game of his career (15 carries for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns) but he lacks Skattebo's pass-catching experience coming out of the backfield.
One of the things that makes Skattebo so dangerous is his ability to take a checkdown pass and turn it into a huge gain. He is Arizona State's second-leading receiver with 27 receptions for 404 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Without Skattebo, Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt will have to rely on his legs more. Leavitt is ASU's second-leading rusher, but has not scrambled as much since injuring his ribs against Utah on Oct. 11.
If Skattebo plays, the Sun Devils figure to be big favorites. If he doesn't, the game is a pick 'em. We'll see what happens on Saturday. The ASU vs. UCF kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. MST on ESPN2.
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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.