UCLA vs. Utah Prediction
Will Utah cover the point spread against a banged-up UCLA team tonight in Pac-12 play?
ODDSMAKERS LIKE: Utah. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Utes are now 6.5-point home favorites over the Bruins after opening as a 5-point home favorite. As for the over/under, the total sits at 59 points after hitting the board at 61.
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THE PUBLIC LIKES: Utah. As of this writing, nearly 60% of tickets are on the Utes minus the points.
HISTORICAL TRENDS LIKE: Utah and the under. The Bruins are just 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games versus the Utes while the under has cashed in five of the last six meetings between these two teams.
WHO WE LIKE: Utah. Both of these teams have issues at quarterback, where Josh Rosen might not play for UCLA and Tyler Huntley has struggled for Utah. If Rosen doesn’t play, redshirt freshman Devon Modster will start for the Bruins, who don’t have the rushing attack to take advantage of a Utah front that is allowing 5.6 yards per carry in conference play this season. Oregon piled up 347 rushing yards on 49 carries last Saturday, but UCLA isn’t good enough upfront or patient enough from a play-calling standpoint to take advantage of its opponent’s weakness.
Back to Huntley…in his two games since returning from a shoulder injury, he completed 56.4 percent of his passes after throwing at a 73.3 percent clip during the first four games of the year. Still, I’m banking on UCLA not showing up tonight at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Bruins are playing on the road for the third time in a four-week span and the southern California boys, the cold temps in Utah could be a factor. I just don’t trust Jim Mora to get his guys ready, especially if Rosen doesn’t play and it doesn’t look lik he will.
The Bruins are 1-6 against the spread in their last seven conference games, are winless at 0-5 at the betting window in their last five road games, and have failed to cover the spread in five of their last six games overall. On the other side, the Utes are 5-2-1 against the spread in their last eight games and are 7-3-1 against the number in their last 11 games following a loss of more than 20 points.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 10 PICK: UTAH UTES -6.5