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We can take a sigh of relief; K.J. Costello is starting. I mean, how could he not? He sparked the offense against UCLA and impressed everyone with his legs and his arm. Still, even with K.J. behind center, a win over the Sun Devils is no sure thing.
Stanford struggles to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and Arizona State's Manny Wilkins might pick apart the Stanford secondary. He threw for 347 yards against Oregon and also collected a couple touchdowns on the ground. Wilkins is a solid player that gets the ball to his playmakers, and the Arizona State passing game a chance in this game.
It's worth noting Stanford's secondary is much more talented than Oregon's. Alijah Holder and Quenton Meeks are stars, and together, they might be the best corner duo in the nation. However, Holder won't be playing in the first half after being ejected for targeting, and his absence might allow the Sun Devils to strike early.
Even without Holder, Stanford's secondary should be able to stop the Sun Devils periodically. Arizona State practically doesn't have a run game, so the Cardinal can focus solely on the passing game. In my opinion, Arizona State reminds me a lot of UCLA on offense; they can pass but can't run. Expect the Sun Devils to score around 30 points in this game.
Stanford needs to put points up on the board, and all signs indicate that they will. The Sun Devils' defense has struggled to stop the run, and Bryce Love should have another Heisman performance. Arizona State is allowing 6.58 yards per carry, so it's crazy to think Love's numbers could improve after Saturday.
The biggest question heading into this game: what will K.J. Costello do? Was last week just a fluke? Or is K.J. a future star? It's too soon to tell after one game, but K.J. definitely made a big difference last week. The Arizona State secondary is just as bad as the UCLA secondary, so K.J. will make a strong case to keep the starting job.
Arizona State can score, but they can't stop anyone from scoring. This game will be high scoring, but Stanford will come away with a 42-31 victory.
The game kicks off at 1 PM PT on PAC-12 Network.