In a battle of two schools that like to mix in a lot of running plays, Head Coach Kyle Whittingham and the Utah Utes (-14) are preparing to play host to the Arizona Wildcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN and kickoff for this key conference matchup is set for 10:00 p.m. ET. These programs met a year ago with the final result being a 30-24 victory for Utah.
Arizona Wildcats at Utah Utes Betting Preview
In this Friday Pac-12 game, Utah is getting picked as the heavy favorite and the team’s currently giving up 14 points. The Wildcats are also receiving +500 moneyline odds while the Utes are -735. Should one side can find paydirt early, it will likely create a nice live betting scenario.
The underwhelming Wildcats are down 4.8 units so far and 3-3 against the spread (ATS). They’ve been a good under bet and have posted an O/U record of 0-5. The Utes have gained 0.5 units this season. The team is 2-3 ATS and owns an even O/U record of 2-2.
The Wildcats are 3-3 straight up (SU), including 2-1 SU against Pac-12 opponents. The Utes are 3-2 SU overall and are also 1-2 SU in conference play.
The Wildcats are coming off a 24-17 win over California last week in which Khalil Tate completed 15-of-25 passes for just 141 yards, along with a TD and an interception. J.J. Taylor (73 yards on 15 rush attempts) led the running attack. Shun Brown (four receptions, 38 yards) and Shawn Poindexter (three catches, 16 yards) shared the receiving duties in the win.
Utah just got a blowout 40-21 win over Stanford. The Utes defensive secondary allowed the Cardinal to air it out for 381 yards. Kaden Smith was a bright spot in the loss for Stanford, recording 120 yards on eight catches. For Utah, Tyler Huntley completed 17-of-21 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown. Zack Moss (160 rushing yards on 20 attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Huntley (23 yards on 10 carries) led the running game as Britain Covey (six receptions, 70 yards) and Brant Kuithe (three catches, 22 yards) led the pass-catching corps in the win.
In terms of offensive play-calling, each of these squads sports a similar run-pass ratio on the season. Arizona’s run the ball on 57.5 percent of its offensive possessions while Utah has a rush percentage of 56.0. The Wildcats have produced 202 rush yards per game (including 221 per game against Pac-12 opponents) and have 10 touchdowns on the ground this year. The Utes are putting up 177 rush yards per game (183 in conference) and have eight total rushing TDs.
The Wildcats offensive scheme has tallied 244 yards/contest through the air overall (175 per game versus conference opposition) and has 11 passing scores so far. The Utes have recorded 212 pass yards per game (151.7 against Pac-12 foes) and have five total pass TDs.
On the defensive side of the ball, Arizona has allowed 197 rush yards and 231 pass yards per game. The Utah D has allowed 221.0 yards per game to opposing passers and 75.4 yards per game to opposing runners. The Utes are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.61 to opposing QBs, while the Wildcats have allowed a 6.16 ANY/A.
Passing-wise, Tate has amassed 1,180 yards this season, and has connected on 55 percent of his 141 attempts with nine scores through the air and three interceptions. Tate’s got an 8.16 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 5.52 over the past two games.
We expect the Arizona offense to mix it up in this one. As a group, J.J. Taylor, Shun Brown and Khalil Tate have collectively accounted for 358 yards from scrimmage over the last two outings.
Tyler Huntley has completed 82-of-130 passes for 902 yards, five TDs and two INTs for Utah. His ANY/A sits at 5.94 for the season and 7.07 over his past two outings.
We also expect the Utah offense to spread its attack this Friday. As a trio, Zack Moss, Tyler Huntley and Britain Covey have combined for 473 total yards and five touchdowns the last two games.
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Notes
Betting Notes
The Utah D has tallied 13 sacks on the year while Arizona has nine.
Utah has lost seven fumbles this season while the Arizona offense has lost three.
The Wildcats offense has created three pass plays of 40+ yards, while the Utes have accounted for four such plays.
The Arizona defense has allowed five pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Utah has given up three such plays.
The Arizona offense has created 13 rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Utah has created 11 such runs.
The Wildcats defense has allowed 11 rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Utes have given up two such runs.
Utah was favored by 4 points in its previous matchup and the Over/Under was set at 44.5. The over cashed and Utah covered in the 40-21 win over Stanford.
In its last three matchups, Utah is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
In its last three matchups, Arizona is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in each of those three.
Arizona has won four of its last five games SU, with a September 29th defeat to USC accounting for the only loss over that stretch.
Arizona was the underdog by 2 points in its last game and the O/U was set at 57. The under cashed and Arizona covered in the 24-17 win over California.
Arizona has produced 5.44262295081967 yards per carry across its last three games and 3.1 over its last two.
Utah has averaged 4.5 yards per carry over its last three contests and 4.6 over its past two.
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