Utah vs. Arizona College Football Odds & Picks: Utes Have Value as Heavy Road Favorites
Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images. Pictured: Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) coming onto the field with teammates.
- Utah (-24) is a huge favorite on Saturday in Tucson against Arizona.
- The Utes have advantages all over the field and enter this game red hot.
- Alex Kolodziej breaks down the matchup and makes his betting pick below.
Utah vs. Arizona Odds
| Utah Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
|
-24
-115
|
54
-110o / -110u
|
-2500 |
| Arizona Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
|
+24
-105
|
54
-110o / -110u
|
+1400 |
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham’s inching closer to a shot at the elusive Pac-12 title.
Conference frontrunner Oregon’s on deck. But first, his team must take care of business in what would normally be described as a trap spot.
Saturday’s not, because Arizona’s been that bad.
The Wildcats eked out a 10-3 nail-biter over Cal in Week 10 – their first win since Oct. 5, 2019, ending the nation’s longest losing drought.
The majority interested in this one only care about the spread, total, or both. Here, I’ll tell you why there’s value on the side.
Utah Utes
Utah Offense Still Thriving
Your starting quarterback quitting mid-season would normally hamper the offense, if not the entire team.
Utah hasn’t skipped a beat in the wake of Charlie Brewer’s departure.
Cameron Rising — who earned the starting job last year only to suffer a season-ending injury during the opener — has led the team to 38.5 points per game over his six starts.
The sophomore has 12 touchdown passes, just two interceptions and the ninth-best QBR in the country.
The scary part is that’s not even the strength of the Utes offense.
Utah owns the best rush yards per carry in the country (6.2), thanks to a front five that’s third in Line Yards.
Whittingham’s previous offensive units struggled to rip off chunks, but his current group’s also top 10 in Big Play; overall, it’s one of the most underrated offenses in the entire nation.
The defense, meanwhile, is unsurprisingly fourth overall in Havoc rate, registering the 13th-most sacks in football (28.0).
Utah’s held four of its last five opponents under the team total.
Arizona Wildcats
Wildcats Solid Against Spread
All it took was a Cal team hit by COVID-19 for head coach Jedd Fisch to notch win No. 1 last week.
The Wildcats have been better than market expectation of late, covering three straight.
They threw the kitchen sink at a volatile USC team in Week 9, after nearly tripping up Washington as a 17-point ‘dog the game prior.
Quarterback Will Plummer’s been the primary starter lately for an offense exhausting signal callers at a torrid pace.
Multiple guys have gotten a shot in Fisch’s offense, but there’s hardly been a standout due to injuries and poor play.
If you can build a lead on Arizona, you can likely coast the rest of the game: The ‘Cats are 129th in Pass Success and 122nd in Big Play this year.
Arizona’s 4-0 to the under as a home ‘dog in 2021. Six of the last eight meetings between these two have sailed under the total.
Utah vs. Arizona Matchup Analysis
Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Utah and Arizona match up statistically:
Utah Offense vs. Arizona Defense
 |
Offense
|
Defense
|
 Edge
|
| Rush Success | 14 | 59 |
|
| Line Yards | 3 | 62 |
|
| Pass Success | 78 | 12 |
|
| Pass Blocking** | 93 | 70 |
|
| Big Play | 8 | 95 |
|
| Havoc | 20 | 46 |
|
| Finishing Drives | 35 | 105 |
|
| ** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.) | |||
Arizona Offense vs. Utah Defense
|
|
Offense
|
Defense
|
Edge
|
| Rush Success | 78 | 64 |
|
| Line Yards | 75 | 86 |
|
| Pass Success | 129 | 46 |
|
| Pass Blocking** | 76 | 44 |
|
| Big Play | 122 | 71 |
|
| Havoc | 112 | 4 |
|
| Finishing Drives | 127 | 52 |
|
| ** Pass Blocking (Off.) vs. Pass Rush (Def.) | |||
Pace of Play / Other
|
|
|
|
| PFF Tackling | 110 | 77 |
| Coverage | 73 | 130 |
| Middle 8 | 57 | 102 |
| SP+ Special Teams | 125 | 56 |
| Plays per Minute | 64 | 29 |
| Rush Rate | 53.3% (78) | 50.3% (95) |
Utah vs. Arizona Betting Pick
Utah’s running hot, and good luck to anyone getting in the way of this freight train.
The Utes fit our A-rated, Road Streak PRO system in Week 11, which has cashed at a 61% lifetime rate. It highlights road teams on a winning streak, with a certain threshold on the total.
Utah’s admittedly had its lumps, dropping games to both San Diego State and Oregon State as a favorite.
However, this is usually when Whittingham flips the switch. He’s 6-1 against the number the last seven in November.
Lay the chalk in another smash spot for the Utes.
Pick: Utah -24 (Play to 24)
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