Subscribe
Follow Us
The Arizona Wildcats take on the Utah Utes. Check out our college football odds series for our Arizona Utah prediction and pick.
This game's backdrop begins with a reference to last week's Utah game at Washington State. Utah quarterback Cam Rising was expected to play, but a knee injury flared up shortly before kickoff and he didn't feel he could play. This was not expected. It was a total surprise. Utah backup quarterback Bryson Barnes did not know several days in advance that he would start this game against Washington State. He learned shortly before kickoff that he would be pressed into service as the starter. Utah also went into that Washington State game without top running backs Tavion Thomas and Micah Bernard. The Utes already had tight end Brant Kuithe out for the season with an injury. When they got into the fourth quarter of this game, they watched tight end Dalton Kincaid get hurt. There are lots of long-term injury questions for the Utes, who won that game against Washington State but will now face an offense much better than Wazzu's. Cam Rising is expected to play in this game, but everyone will be watching to see if Rising is reasonably effective and in rhythm. If there are doubts about Rising's health, Utah and coach Kyle Whittingham have to do what they can to make sure that the Utes' top players are available for the huge Nov. 19 game at Oregon, which is likely to play a role in determining which teams advance to the Pac-12 Championship Game this December in Las Vegas.
Arizona's offense scored 37 points against USC a week ago. The Wildcats scored 39 against Washington earlier in the season and 43 against Colorado. Quarterback Jayden de Laura makes a handful of bad throws in each game, but most of the time, he has been spreading the ball around to a lot of great receivers. Dorian Singer had a huge game against USC in Week 9. Tetaroia McMillan makes high-level catches in traffic and is a load for any opposing cornerback who tries to stop him. Jacob Cowing has piled up the yards as a fast, reliable receiver within coach Jedd Fisch's passing scheme. The Arizona offense is for real, and it will pose a much bigger challenge to Utah than anything the Utes faced versus Washington State.
Arizona's defense is a real problem, however. The Wildcats' offense is often wasted because the defense can't do anything. Arizona has allowed 45 or more points in four of the last five games. That's an absolute trainwreck for an Arizona team which is clearly better than last year's group but is still in bad shape in terms of being able to make a bowl game this season.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Arizona-Utah College Football odds.
College Football Odds: Arizona-Utah Odds
Arizona Wildcats: +17.5 (-112)
Utah Utes: -17.5 (-110)
Over: 67.5 (-112)
Under: 67.5 (-108)
Article Continues Below
Why Arizona Could Cover the Spread
The Wildcats should be able to score a reasonable amount of points with their passing game. Utah's defense dominated Washington State, but as mentioned above, WSU's passing attack is nowhere near as potent as Arizona's. Given the uncertain health status of Cam Rising, it's easy to imagine a game in which Arizona scores enough to lose by only 10 or 14 points.
Why Utah Could Cover the Spread
Utah, if Cam Rising is healthy and effective, should score more than 50 points and blow the doors off a bad Arizona defense.
Final Arizona-Utah Prediction & Pick
Stay away from this game, because Cam Rising's effectiveness is hard to know until we see a few snaps and possessions in this game. If you insist on a pick, take Utah if only because Cam Rising is expected to play.
Final Arizona-Utah Prediction & Pick: Utah -17.5
