Colorado vs. Arizona State: Early point spread released on Buffaloes, Sun Devils

As Colorado looks to return to its winning ways after two weeks playing against some of the nation’s best, they head to Tempe for a Pac-12 Conference battle against Arizona State.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Colorado will open the game as a six-point betting favorite over Arizona State on the road.

The two programs have played six times since 2016 with both teams claiming three wins a piece over that span. Before that, the Sun Devils won the first seven matches in the series dating back to 2007.

Of course, the Sun Devils are without the services of true freshman quarterback Jaden Rashada for the matchup after losing him to injury for an extended period of time. Rashada passed for 403 yards, three touchdowns and an interception after starting the first two games of the season.

He’s expected back in the mix over the next couple weeks as he nurses what head coach Kenny Dillingham described as an injury that has bothered him since high school.

The quarterback issues only go deeper from there. Trenton Bourguet was named starting QB after Rashada went down — but ended up injuring his foot after two drives of his first start and missed a couple weeks before making this weekend’s start vs. Cal. Former Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne is the emergency quarterback for the Sun Devils, but he’s been dealing with a leg injury of his own recently.

Meanwhile, Colorado has one of the most acclaimed quarterbacks in the country this season, Shedeur Sanders. He completed 30 passes against USC for 371 passing yards, four touchdowns and ranked No. 2 in the country in passing yards (1,781).

After a magical 3-0 start to the season, Colorado’s schedule reached its toughest point with a two-game stretch against two top-10 ranked teams in Oregon and the Trojans. FanDuel’s odds indicate Colorado to return to its winning ways beginning this week, and likely against Stanford for Week 7.

One of the bigger questions for the Buffaloes moving forward is the injury timeline for two-way star Travis Hunter. After suffering a lacerated liver during Week 3 against Colorado State, his original diagnosis has him missing Saturday’s game against ASU and for him to return the following week against the Cardinal — but that could change and should be monitored throughout the week.

Kickoff between the Buffaloes and Sun Devils is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET inside Mountain America Stadium live on the Pac-12 Network. The over/under total is set at 64.5 points.