The Arizona St. Sun Devils are coming off a blowout victory over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks in Week 1. With hopes high in the Todd Graham era, the Sun Devils figure to face their first test of the season on Saturday night, when the Illinois Fighting Illini come to town. Most like ASU's chances due to their home-field advantage and talent out of the backfield, but the Illini likely won't go down without a fight.
Let's take a look at a few experts' picks for the game:
Here are Kevin Gemmell and Ted Miller of ESPN's Pac-12 blog with their picks:
Kevin: Arizona State 27, Illinois 14. Color me impressed by the Sun Devils, who showed no mercy in Week 1. There are quarterback issues surrounding the Illini and regardless of who starts for them, the Sun Devils face either a backup in Reilly O'Toole or a limping starter in Nathan Scheelhasse.
Ted: Arizona State 24, Illinois 17. This pick assumes that Scheelhasse won't play or will be severely limited by his bum ankle. The key for the Sun Devils is getting the running game going, whether that's with Cameron Marshall, Marion Grice or D.J. Foster. Or all three.
Stewart Mandel of SI.com also likes the Sun Devils:
Tim Beckman's Toledo teams were known for their high-scoring offenses, but the Illini managed just 24 points in their opener against Western Michigan -- the same team that Beckman's Rockets beat 66-63 last season. Furthermore, third-year quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase suffered an ankle injury. Illinois doesn't have the firepower to exploit the Sun Devils' potentially leaky D. ASU 26 - Illinois 17
Be sure to check out SB Nation Studios' Dan Rubenstein's picks for this weekend:
Kickoff from Tempe is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT.
For more on the Sun Devils, visit House of Sparky.