<body><div><p>Despite beating Kansas to improve to 4-1, Arizona State is still viewed as being among the bottom third of Big 12 teams by ESPN's Power Index. </p><p>Arizona State moved up just one spot in ESPN's Power Index after its win over Kansas on Saturday.</p><p>Somewhat surprisingly, the 1-5 Jayhawks remained ahead of the Sun Devils in the index despite winning the turnover battle 2-0 in their loss in Tempe. </p><p>The Big 12 remains remarkably competitive, with 10 of the conference's teams separated by just 20 spots in the index. Despite being 4-1, ASU is viewed as the 12th-best team in the conference. Thirteen teams in the conference are given at least a 62.4 percent chance of achieving bowl eligibility, including ASU at 86.7 — significantly higher than 68.5 percent last week — with a win forecast that jumped from 6.3 to 7.1.</p><p>The Sun Devils scored on all three of their fourth-quarter possessions, including a two-minute drill led by redshirt freshman quarterback Sam Leavitt and senior running back Cam Skattebo, to beat the Jayhawks. </p><p>Their reward? A quick six-day turnaround to get ready to host No. 16 Utah at 7:30 p.m. Friday in a nationally televised game on ESPN.</p><p>To most prognosticators, ASU wasn't supposed to win six games at the outset of this season after the Big 12 media poll picked the team to finish last. A win over the Utes would get the Sun Devils within one victory of bowl eligibility at the midpoint of their season and potentially lead to their inclusion in next week's AP Top 25 poll. </p><p>Here's how ASU is expected to fare against its remaining opponents.</p><h2>No. 16 Utah — 48.9 percent chance to win</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0QXLar_0w11nLLF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0QXLar_0w11nLLF00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>Utah QB Cam Rising is from Ventura, Calif. (Photo: Rob Gray, Getty)</figcaption></figure><p>Freshman quarterback Issac Wilson, the younger brother of Denver Broncos quarterback Zach Wilison, did not play well in Utah's 23-10 home loss to Arizona before the Utes' bye week. He threw two interceptions and completed just 50 percent of his passes in the team's first loss of the season, dropping the Utes to 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12. It's unclear whether starter Cameron Rising will return to action against the Sun Devils missing the team's last three games due to an injury to one or more fingers on his throwing hand. "We will see what happens this week with Cam, and we're hoping," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said on his coach's show Tuesday. "I think it's looking encouraging, but I'm not going to say anything until we actually get to the game."ASU's odds of beating the Utes have improved in the last two weeks to a point at which the game is essentially viewed as a toss-up by ESPN's FPI. Utah was favored by 5.5 points when the line opened but it's down to four points now. </p><h2>Cincinnati — 39.2 percent chance to win</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=27Som3_0w11nLLF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=27Som3_0w11nLLF00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>(Photo: Stephanie Scarbrough/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK, USA TODAY Sports)</figcaption></figure><p>In 1976, an ASU team led by legendary head coach Frank Kush hosted the Bearcats in Tempe but lost what was only the second meeting between the two schools, 14-0. During the offseason, the Sun Devils added one of Cincinnati's edge rushers from last season, junior defensive lineman Justin Wodtly, as well as its top tight end, junior Chamon Metayer. Wodtly appeared in all 13 games last season for the Bearcats, recording 13 tackles and one sack while Metayer led the team with five receiving touchdowns. Cincinnati, at 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12, is coming off a bye week after narrowly losing at Texas Tech, 44-41 on Sept. 28 in a game that appears as a good common opponent measuring stick with the Sun Devils. ASU's odds of a win decreased earlier in September due to improved play by the Bearcats, including their 34-0 win over Houston two weeks ago. </p><h2>Oklahoma State — 43.3 percent chance to win</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=40Ektu_0w11nLLF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=40Ektu_0w11nLLF00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>(Photo: SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK, USA TODAY Sports)</figcaption></figure><p>Oklahoma State has disappointed more than any team in the Big 12 with losses in three straight Big 12 games to drop to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the conference. On Saturday, the Cowboys were booed at home in their 38-14 loss to West Virginia in which both of their top linebackers did not play due to injury. That followed a blowout loss at Kansas State. Put it all together and ASU's odds of achieving a win in Stillwater on Nov. 2 have steadily and significantly improved in recent weeks to a high mark of 43.3 percent as of this week by ESPN's FPI. Still, the Cowboys have the second-most returning starters in major college football this season, behind Virginia Tech, with 21. Leading the team is the 2023 Doak Walker Award Winner and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, junior running back Ollie Gordon II.&nbsp; But All-Big 12 linebacker senior Collin Oliver is expected to miss a "considerable number of games," with a leg injury according to coach Mike Gundy, and fellow star linebacker Nick Martin missed the team's West Virginia injury while on crutches on the sideline.&nbsp;</p><h2>UCF — 56.3 percent chance to win</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2ewWYG_0w11nLLF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2ewWYG_0w11nLLF00" width="620" height="320" ></figure><p>UCF (3-2; 1-1) will have to travel more than 2,140 miles to Tempe, which is the longest trip it will make this season. Led by former Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, who led the Tigers during ASU coach Kenny Dillingham's time there as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, UCF has dropped like a rock in recent weeks in ESPN's Power Index from a high of No. 18 to its current position at No. 39 after a 24-13 loss to Florida. That followed a blowout home loss to a surging Colorado, 48-21. The Sun Devils and Knights played each other one time in 2002 when ASU won, 46-13. This year's matchup is nearly a toss-up according to FPI, though ASU climbed above 50 percent to a 56.3 percent win chance based on UCF's two-game losing streak. </p><h2>No. 18 Kansas State — 23.4 percent chance to win</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0d6Kai_0w11nLLF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0d6Kai_0w11nLLF00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>(Photo: Peter Aiken, Getty)</figcaption></figure><p>No. 18 Kansas State (4-1; 1-1) moved up two spots in this week's AP Top 25 despite not playing while on a bye week. In their most recent game, the Wildcats responded well after their lopsided loss to BYU with an impressive 42-20 win over Oklahoma State. ASU's second-to-last away game of the year, in Manhattan, Kansas, could be the most challenging atmosphere in which it will play in the entire season. The Sun Devils have worse odds of beating the Wildcats than any team on their schedule, at just 23.4 percent on ESPN's FPI, though that ticked up slightly this week. Kansas State was passed by 5-0 Iowa State as the top Big 12 team in ESPN's Power Index this week, with the Wildcats sitting at 15.3 percent to make the College Football Playoff on the strength of their potent rushing attack. ASU will play the top two run offenses in the Big 12 in back-to-back weeks as UCF is atop the Big 12 in the category.</p><h2>No. 14 BYU — 51.4 percent chance to win</h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=04XPpB_0w11nLLF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=04XPpB_0w11nLLF00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>BYU coach Kalani Sitake (Photo: BYU Photo, Jaren Wilkey)</figcaption></figure><p>BYU (5-0; 2-0) was the biggest Big 12 surprise in September. After being picked to finish No. 13 in the conference's preseason media poll, the Cougars won their first five games of the season, including conference wins over Kansas State and Baylor, before a bye week. BYU's potent passing attack is led by junior quarterback Jett Retzlaff, who has already thrown for 1,204 yards and 11 touchdowns with five interceptions. At one point, ASU's game against the Cougars was viewed as its best chance of winning any Big 12 game this season. But that's no longer the case as it's now a toss-up game that slightly favors ASU according to ESPN's FPI. </p><h2>Arizona — 47.6 percent chance to win </h2><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4EGDpd_0w11nLLF00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4EGDpd_0w11nLLF00" width="620" height="320" ><figcaption>Tetairoa McMillan (Photo: Arizona Athletics)</figcaption></figure><p>Arizona (3-2; 1-1) lost at home to Texas Tech, 28-22, on Saturday in a common opponent game that included mediocre offensive production with quarterback Noah Fifita throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns. The Wildcats have bounced around ESPN's Power Index quite a lot this season, dropping dramatically after some shaky early games before moving up a lot with its win at Utah and then down 12 spots this week to No. 56, three spots behind ASU. The Wildcats were as low as No. 57 after earlier initially being viewed as one of the Big 12's best teams. As well as starting their first year in the Big 12, the Wildcats also have a new head coach in Brent Brennan, who was hired after Jedd Fisch left for Washington. The Territorially is currently viewed as nearly a toss-up game. Both teams will try to attain bowl eligibility before they meet to end the regular season. </p></div></body>

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Sun Devils narrowly projected to have winning season in latest ESPN FPI update

Despite beating Kansas to improve to 4-1, Arizona State is still viewed as being among the bottom third of Big 12 teams by ESPN's Power Index. Arizona State moved up just one spot in ESPN's Power Index after its win over Kansas on Saturday. Somewhat surprisingly, the 1-5 Jayhawks remained...

Sun Devils narrowly projected to have winning season in latest ESPN FPI update

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