NCAA Football Preview - Arizona State Sun Devils

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08/21/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - 2006 SEASON IN REVIEW: The 2006 season began with a tremendous blast for the Sun Devils as the team opened the year with three consecutive wins, defeating Northern Arizona (35-14), Nevada (52-21) and Colorado (21-3). At 3-0, the Sun Devils went into their Pac-10 schedule red hot, however, the team's confidence would be shattered with a 49-21 setback to California. It only got worse for ASU as the team dropped two more games, losing to Oregon (48-13) and USC (28-21). The Sun Devils were able to roll off back-to-back wins over Stanford (38-3) and Washington (26-23 OT), but once again the team could not continue its winning ways, falling to Oregon State, 44-10. In the final four regular season games, the team went 2-2, however, both losses came at home to UCLA (28-14) and Hawaii (41-24). At season's end, the Sun Devils were just 7-6 and 4-4 in conference. Throughout the season, the Sun Devils were inconsistent offensively and atrocious on defense, which would explain the mediocre 7-6 mark and the even 4-4 record in Pac-10 play. As a result of the tough losses at home and the defensive struggles, coach Dirk Koetter was fired and replaced with Dennis Erickson.

2007 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: Last season the Sun Devils had one of the tougher offensive units in the Pac-10 and although the team has a new coach in Erickson, expect Arizona State, with 10 returning starters, to once again give opposing defenses fits. The biggest threat the Sun Devils possess is their two-headed monster in the backfield, as Ryan Torain and Keegan Herring helped lead the Sun Devils to 69.7 ypg on the ground last season. Torain did most of the damage, rushing for 1,229 yards and seven scores, while Herring posted 549 yards and six scores on 5.8 ypc. With both players back, it is probably the best rushing tandem in the Pac-10. Under center, Rudy Carpenter will look to continue he progress for ASU. Last year, the junior threw for 2,523 yards and 23 TDs against 13 interceptions. Carpenter dealt with some injuries, but this season he appears healthy and has a solid group of receivers. Mike Jones looks to be the top target for ASU, as the 6-4 wideout is coming off a season in which he grabbed just 20 balls for 318 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore speedster Kyle Williams and fellow soph Brandon Smith will also play a huge role in the offense this year. The bottom line is that Carpenter has the tools around him, now all he needs is to work Erickson's scheme effectively.

DEFENSE: The Sun Devils were atrocious last season on defense and with only six starters back in the fold, it might be more of the same this time around. The biggest problem for the Sun Devils was in the secondary, as the team ranked first against the pass in '06. However, the team should improve this season with its leading tackler back in strong safety Josh Barrett. Jeremy Payton will join Justin Tryon at cornerback, while free safety Troy Nolan returns from a serious injury which caused him to redshirt last season. The front line is also in need of some major help as only starters Dexter Davis and Michael Marquardt return. Saia Falahola will move from offense to defense to give the team some depth, but there are still plenty of questions to be answered. Fortunately, the team has a solid group of linebackers with starters Travis Goethel and Mike Nixon and juco transfer Morris Wooten roaming the middle of the field.

SPECIAL TEAMS: The kicking game will go through a transition period this year with four-year kicker Jesse Ainsworth now gone. Thomas Weber has a big leg, but he has consistency issues and will obviously struggle early on. One area ASU does not have to worry is in the return game. The Sun Devils have plenty of speed and talent on the roster but it will most likely be either Rudy Burgess or Kyle Williams returning kicks for ASU this fall.

OUTLOOK: Having a coach as seasoned as Erickson will obviously be a plus for ASU, but it will take some time for the team to grasp his offensive scheme. Last season, ASU had a tough road schedule, but this time around the squad will have the luxury of playing eight of its 12 games at Sun Devil Stadium. The toughest part of the schedule will be back-to-back road games in November against Oregon and UCLA. The offense should put forth similar numbers to last year, but if the defense does not improve look for ASU to post no more than seven wins.

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Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

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The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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