College Football: Utah Utes at Washington Huskies

By BetOnline October 31, 2019

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The game between the Utah Utes and the Washington Huskies is a huge test for a Utah team which has the talent to make its first-ever Rose Bowl appearance. To do that, they’ll need to prove that they can win big games away from home. This will be their fourth road game of the season but it could be their toughest as the Huskies are a quality Pac-12 foe.

UTAH UTES AT WASHINGTON HUSKIES
CFB ODDS: UTAH -3.5
CFB TOTAL: 47

WHY THE UTES WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Utes have to like their chances here because their opponent just isn’t that good. Washington isn’t a bad team but this team is not College Football Playoff-caliber; they aren’t nearly as good as they have been in past seasons. The Huskies lost to a bad Stanford team, scoring just 13 points against the Cardinal, then scored just one touchdown in a home-field loss to California early in the season. They blew a 28-14 lead to the Oregon Ducks a week and a half ago and lost again. Washington has been in position to win every game it has played but the Huskies played terrible fourth quarters against Stanford, Cal and Oregon, and now sits at 5-3.

The challenge for the Huskies is that this year’s defense isn’t what it used to be. They allowed three second-half touchdowns and 35 total points to Oregon in a bitter loss which knocked the Huskies out of the Pac-12 title race. For the most part, teams have run wild on them as they’re 61st in rush defense, giving up a whopping 164.6 yards on the ground per game. Utah comes in averaging 218.9 on the ground per game, so that figures to be a great matchup for them.

WHY THE HUSKIES WILL COVER THE SPREAD

The Washington Huskies are a proud team, they’re talented and they’re well-coached. They made the Rose Bowl last season and they have won two of the past three Pac-12 championships. While they know they won’t win their division or be getting to that level in 2019, they’re not about to quit on their season.

What we know about Utah is that they play great defense in home games, giving up 33 points in five home games, but are not the same on the road. They’re allowing 8.2 points per game at home but 16.3 on the road. They’re not a great passing team as quarterback Tyler Huntley has just one touchdown pass and one pick in his last two games. If the Huskies can somehow corral the Utes running game, this will be a dogfight.

TAKING A LOOK AT THE TOTAL

Washington’s 35-31 loss at home to Oregon, plus Utah’s 30-23 loss at USC earlier in the season, suggest that both defenses will struggle – Washington because its defense simply isn’t good, Utah because its defense doesn’t play as well in road games. Expect big plays in this game, because these teams are different from last year, when they played two very ugly games in which the average number of total points scored was 20.5 (combined). This game should feature a lot more offense and go over.