Arizona vs. Kansas State Odds: K-State Given 73% Chance to Take Down Arizona on Friday Night Big 12 Opener
Kansas State will host the Arizona Wildcats on Friday night to open up Big 12 conference play with a ranked showdown. Can Avery Johnson and K-State avoid the upset at home against Tetairoa McMillan and Arizona? Let's take a look at the latest odds for Arizona vs. Kansas State.
Peter Alexis - September 13, 2024, 11:53 AM EDT
5 minArizona vs. Kansas State Odds: K-State Given 73% Chance to Take Down Arizona on Friday Night Big 12 Opener
The No. 20 Arizona Wildcats will visit Manhattan, Kansas on Friday night for their very first game in the Big 12 after the Pac-12 split apart this offseason. They will square off with No. 14 Kansas State under the lights in the battle of the best Wildcat.
Arizona lost their head coach Jedd Fisch to Washington after last season, but kept a lot of their star players despite that. One of those is Noah Fifita, who returns under center for his second season as starting quarterback. He was a breakout star last year, and has been finding his future first-round draft pick Tetairoa McMillan early and often so far.
Avery Johnson took over for the departing Will Howard at quarterback for K-State this year, and has excelled so far. The former 4-star recruit stepped in after Howard transferred to Ohio State in the offseason. DJ Giddens has been assisting Johnson on offense, dashing for 238 yards in two games and giving much-needed balance to the K-State attack.
Let's check out the latest odds for Arizona vs. Kansas State on Friday night to see who has the edge.
Arizona vs. Kansas State Date, Time, Where to Watch
Date: Friday, September 13, 2024
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Location: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (Manhattan, KS)
How to watch: FOX
Kansas State Record: 2-0
Arizona Record: 2-0
Complete Arizona vs. Kansas State odds
Arizona vs. Kansas State Odds
Team | Spread Odds | Total Odds | Moneyline Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
Arizona Wildcats | +7 (-110) | Over 61 (-110) | +205 |
Kansas State Wildcats | -7 (-110) | Under 61 (-110) | -250 |
Kansas State comes into this game as a touchdown favorite, and will put Avery Johnson in a spot to get tested in his first conference game as a full-time starter. The odds are giving K-State a 73% chance to get the win at home, but they'll need to shut down the visiting Arizona offense in order to do so.
The betting splits are showing the public bet is on Arizona at 64%, but even more big money backing them, with 73% of the total handle on Arizona's +7 spread. This spread has sat around 7.5 for most of the week, but is now falling towards 6.5 on some books as the money continues to flow in on Tetairoa McMillan and Arizona to keep it close on the road.
Meanwhile on the total, 54% of the bets are on the over, with 70% of the money piling on behind it. It makes sense, as this total has continued to rise from 59.5 to 61 over the course of the week. Both teams have defensive concerns and explosive offenses that could turn this into an old fashioned Big 12 track meet tonight.
Some interesting betting nuggets have come up for both teams. Arizona is 8-0 ATS since November 2022 against ranked opponents, and they have won the last five outright. They were underdogs in all but two of those games. Meanwhile, K-State is 30-15 ATS against conference opponents under head coach Chris Klieman. That stat is good for the best ATS record in college football over the same span.
Arizona vs. Kansas State Preview
With Arizona's early struggles, there are major question marks about how they will perform in the Big 12 gauntlet this year. Without Texas and Oklahoma there is no true super team, but there are lot of squads packed into the Top 25 area who can knock each other out throughout the season.
Arizona had issues on defense in Week 1 against New Mexico, allowing 39 points despite outscoring them with great offense from Tetairoa McMillan, and then struggled the opposite way in Week 2. They barely mustered 22 points against Norther Arizona as a five-touchdown favorite. Neither of those extremes will play well against Kansas State on the road tonight, and they will need to fix both sides of the ball if they want to pull the upset.
Meanwhile, Kansas State went to the wire with Tulane last week on the road. They were outgained by nearly 100 total yards, and struggled immensely on third down with a 2/10 conversion rate. Tulane is no slouch, but they aren't quite up to the level that K-State will face in the Big 12. It took winning the turnover battle by two to help them survive on the road, and they'll need to be more efficient tonight to get past Arizona.
While both teams are currently ranked, it would be a bit of a stretch to see them make the playoffs this year. They both have sophomore quarterbacks and will go through some growing pains as they continue to improve against a Big 12 schedule. It's not impossible, but based on early results, there are a lot of things that need to tighten up before they are reaching a 10-2 or 11-1 record that would be required for entry. Arizona currently holds longshot odds of +1000 to make it, while K-State has a bit of a better chance at +300. K-State is also +400 to win the Big 12 Championship, while Arizona is much further back at +1600. Anything can happen in this new landscape conference, but either squad will have to take down the favored Utah Utes to make it happen.
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