The Arizona State Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats won in Week 1 of their 2023 NCAA season. The wins were nothing to write home about. There were plenty of positives for both teams.
Now, the schedule will just get more challenging for both state teams.
Sun Devils in Tempe
The Arizona Sun Devils had quite a battle at home on Friday night. The Sun Devils did the job in front of 47,000 fans in 106 degrees at Mountain America Stadium. After leading 21-7 at halftime, the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah outscored the Sun Devils 14-3 in the second half but could not get the job done fully. The Sun Devils held on to win 24-21.
Jaden Rashada threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns in the game. Cameron Skattebo was practical as well for the Sun Devils. He rushed the football 17 times for 71 yards and a touchdown. Xavier Guillory was the main culprit in the passing game, as he went for 73 yards and a score.
Now is where things will pick up for the Sun Devils. They will stay at home and welcome Oklahoma State out of the Big 12. The Cowboys come into the game 1-0 after their 27-13 win over Central Arkansas.
These two teams played a season ago, with the Cowboys winning at home in Stillwater. That score was 34-17. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are -3.5 at the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday, totaling 52.5.
Wildcats in Tucson
The Arizona Wildcats, on the other hand, won their NCAAF game with defense. The Wildcats won 38-3, despite leading just 14-3 at halftime. The Wildcats held Northern Arizona to just a second-quarter field goal.
The offense came alive in the second half, as Jayden de Laura finished with three touchdown passes and an interception. Michael Wiley was effective on the ground, rushing for more than 5 yards per game.
The Wildcats will see a stiff increase in competition in Week Two. The Wildcat will travel to Starkville, Mississippi, to take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi State.
The opponent is also 1-0 on the season with a 41-point win over Southeastern Louisiana. If you remember this game from a season ago, it was one the Wildcats would like back. The Bulldogs came into the town and smashed the Wildcats across the field.
The Bulldogs won the game by 22 points. The Bulldogs are favorites again in this game, but this time, they are at home. The Bulldogs are -10 over Arizona, and 57.5 is the total.
Rest of the Pac-12
The Pac-12 was perfect over the weekend. The Utah Utes got one of the best wins on Thursday as they smashed Florida 24-11. Stanford went to Hawaii and beat the Rainbow Warriors on Friday night.
Then, on Saturday, UCLA survived an upstart Coastal Carolina team; Colorado went to TCU and beat the defending national runner-up TCU Horned Frogs. Washington got off to a slow start but smashed Boise State.
USC scored 66 on Nevada, Oregon tallied 81 on Portland State, and Sunday saw the Beavers of Oregon State roll over San Jose State.
Week two sees some pretty good action in the conference of champions. Nebraska will come to Colorado and take on the talk of the town in the Buffaloes. The Utes go to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears in an early affair.
The Oregon Ducks go to Lubbock to take on the Red Raiders of Texas Tech, who lost their week one game. UCLA is at San Diego State, Wisconsin comes to Washington State, and a conference affair goes down between Stanford and USC.
