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It is time to continue our college football odds series with a TCU-Utah prediction and pick. Find out how to watch TCU-Utah.
TCU reached the national championship game two years ago. Now, the Horned Frogs live in mediocrity. This 2024 season went south for coach Sonny Dykes and the Horned Frogs when they blew a 28-7 lead and lost to UCF. We have seen in the weeks following that game that UCF is not very good at all this season. That loss was bad enough at the time; it now looks a lot worse. TCU gave up 66 points in a 24-point loss to SMU. The Frogs lost by 11 at home to a Houston team which has been struggling this season. No one was expecting TCU to regularly contend for College Football Playoff berths after its 2022 run to the title game, but the dramatic and swift extent of the TCU downfall has still been jarring to watch and absorb.
Utah had hoped that it would contend for the playoff this year, but that aspiration depended on quarterback Cam Rising being healthy and ready to perform at the level which guided the Utes to consecutive Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022, earning the program its first two Rose Bowl berths. Rising, very simply, was unable to stay healthy. That has caused this Utah season to crumble. The Utes have lost multiple games, interestingly enough to two schools which joined them in leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12, Arizona and Arizona State. The Utes' chances of making the Big 12 title game are slim to none. The team is trying to pick up the pieces this week and salvage its season with backup Isaac Wilson at quarterback in place of Rising.
TCU versus Utah used to be a huge game in the Mountain West Conference when both schools shared membership in that league over a decade ago. This game doesn't have the high stakes of those old battles in a different era of college football history, but it's an intriguing event nonetheless because these teams are so mysterious and hard to pin down.
Here are the TCU-Utah College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: TCU-Utah Odds
TCU: +4.5 (-108)
Moneyline: +162
Utah: -4.5 (-112)
Moneyline: -196
Over: 49.5 (-108)
Under: 49.5 (-112)
How to Watch TCU vs Utah
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT
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TV: ESPN, ESPN Plus
Stream: fuboTV (Click Here for free trial)
Why TCU Could Cover The Spread/Win
Utah without Cam Rising is a greatly diminished team. TCU has had two weeks to prepare for this game after the ugly home loss to Houston. Expect the Horned Frogs to come out firing and to play a much better offensive game than what we have seen from them for most of the season. If TCU can score anywhere close to 30 points, it will be hard for Utah — with its backup quarterback, Isaac Wilson — to keep pace with the Frogs. Utah might win outright in such a scenario, but with the spread being 4.5 points, it would still be very hard for the Utes to cover. The score could be 34-30 or 35-31 for Utah. TCU still covers if the final score is one of those two suggested possibilities.
Why Utah Could Cover The Spread/Win
TCU is just a bad team. The Horned Frogs aren't disciplined; they don't take care of the ball. Their defense isn't strong. This is not a good matchup for TCU. The night crowd in Salt Lake City will be tough for TCU to handle. Utah is not a complete team with Isaac Wilson at quarterback in place of Cam Rising, but frankly, the certainty of knowing Wilson is the guy under center — healthy and motivated — could actually give this Utah team a measure of clarity which leads to a more determined and sharp performance.
Final TCU-Utah Prediction & Pick
The Utah Utes are not a complete team, but they're still clearly better than TCU at home, even without Cam Rising. Take Utah here.
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Final TCU-Utah Prediction & Pick: Utah -4.5
