Washington State is getting a hefty number at home against Arizona, and the early line says oddsmakers are respecting the Wildcats more than the recent spread results might suggest.
Arizona heads to Pullman on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. Pacific Time kickoff as a 10 1/2-point road favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Wildcats are receiving votes in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll, and they also just handled Northern Illinois 42-17 in Tucson after pulling away from the second quarter on.
Still, the betting trend attached to Arizona is hard to ignore. The Wildcats went 8-4 against the spread in the regular season a year ago, but in 2024 they were 2-10. Two years later, in an even year, they are 0-3.
Washington State comes in with its own uneven start. The Cougars beat Duquesne 48-7, but that game featured a pair of fourth-quarter punt returns for touchdowns by Jaylen Thomas and Tank Hawkins Jr. to help cover a 38 1/2-point spread.
Before that, WSU was a 17 1/2-point underdog at Kansas State and lost 34-7 after managing just 166 total yards and no touchdowns. In the season-opening Apple Cup against then-No.
17 Washington in Seattle, the Cougars were a 23 1/2-point underdog and fell 24-10.
One angle that favors WSU: the Cougars have done fairly well as a home underdog, going 43-33-1.
FanDuel has the over/under at 48 1/2 points.
The teams haven’t met since 2023, when Arizona went into Pullman and ended a three-game road losing streak with a 44-6 win. Arizona was a 7 1/2-point underdog that day against the then-No. 16 Cougars.
Saturday’s matchup is one of the Week 4 games involving former Pac-12 teams. Other early lines include San Diego State at Toledo, Boise State at Western Michigan, Incarnate Word at Texas State, Troy at Utah State and Oregon State at UTEP.
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Noah Fifita And Arizona Face A Bigger Test Than Washington State
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For Fifita, the conversation is as much about decision-making as it is about production, with Seth Doege stressing the need to cut down on the unnecessary hits that can stall drives and put an offense behind schedule. Arizona has shown it can respond when things go sideways, but this game offers a different kind of test, one that asks whether the Wildcats can clean up enough of the self-inflicted mistakes to make the road trip feel like more than just a return to old conference ground. [Read more 🡒]
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For Arizona, the appeal goes beyond a campus tour or a look at the atmosphere in Tucson. These are the kinds of players who can alter a roster down the line, and the fact that other major programs are involved only raises the stakes for Lloyd and his staff. The Wildcats are making their case now, knowing these visits are one more step in a recruitment battle that figures to stretch well beyond this weekend. [Read more 🡒]
Hamiltons Rise Just Changed Arizonas Prep Football Power Race
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The nights other major swing came from Basha, which handed previously unbeaten Liberty its first loss and reinserted the Bears into the Open Division conversation. With notable individual performances around the state and Week 5 matchups already on deck, the next round will go a long way toward sorting out which teams are separating themselves from the pack and which ones are still just one big result away from changing the picture again. [Read more 🡒]