A winless November undid the dreams of a rosy New Year for the Arizona State Sun Devils and ended Dennis Erickson's coaching tenure, but they did snap a three season bowl drought with a selection to the Maaco Las Vegas Bowl. So there's that.
They will face off against another team that fell far short of their lofty ambitions in Boise State. The Broncos dreams of BCS busting came to a devastating end on November 12th when their kicker, Dan Goodale, missed a 39-yard field goal resulted in a 36-35 loss to TCU (ASU fans can sympathize). The loss was the lone blemish for the 11-1 Broncos, but it was enough to banish them to this lower-tier bowl despite finishing No. 7 in the final BCS rankings.
But does this match-up of one of the premier teams in the country spearheaded by an elite passing offense against a team coming off a month-long slide in which they showed tremendous vulnerability through the air really mean a rout is looming?
Yes, if you are the Wynn in Las Vegas.
The opening line for the game is in, and the Sun Devils are 13.5-point underdogs to the mighty Broncos. It is actually a little surprising the margin is not larger, but there is plenty of time for movement before kickoff on December 22nd.
The complete list of point spreads for all 35 bowls can be found here.