The Oregon Ducks and Utah Utes are both coming off three straight losses heading in to Week 9 of the college football season. The good news is that one of those teams is guaranteed a win this weekend. The bad news is that it might be too late for both programs anyways. The Utes still have a chance to turn things around at 4-3, but face a tough slate to close out the year including back-to-back games against Washington State and Washington.
Meanwhile, Oregon is coming another blowout loss at UCLA and will likely need to win out at home beginning this week in order to finish above .500 this season. The Ducks started so positively – with three straight wins – but things have gone sour since then. Losing quarterback Justin Hebert has torpedoed their season. They have scored a total of 31 points in their last three games, which is a huge drop-off. They had scored at least 35 in their first five games of the season. Can they turn things around against an equally struggling Utah side?
Details
Odds: Utah -3
Date & Time: Saturday October 28th – 5:45 PM ET
Location: Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon
Broadcast: Pac-12 Network
Reasons To Bet On The Utah Utes
Utah wasn’t about to be overlooked following close losses to Stanford and USC. However, things changed when the Utes were blown away by Arizona State in a 30-10 loss at home. Utah had no answers for the Sun Devils as quarterback Tyler Huntley threw four interceptions. The Utes defense allowed Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage to combine for 168 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Huntley simply can’t afford to turn the ball over at that rate if Utah is going to have any shot at bouncing back this week. There is a good chance that lingering injury concerns took their toll on Huntley in last week’s loss in his first game back after missing consecutive starts. Huntley has the talent to excel at the position enough weapons around him to move the football versus Oregon this weekend. The only question is whether he is healthy and prepared enough to execute on Saturday.
Reasons To Bet On The Oregon Ducks
Oregon’s offense is an absolute mess without quarterback Justin Herbert. The sophomore passer is dealing with a collarbone injury and while he practiced on Tuesday there is no guarantee that he sees the football field on Saturday. If Herbert can’t go, then the Ducks will face an even tougher uphill climb with freshman Braxton Burmeister under center. Burmeister completed 8-of-15 passes for 74 yards with one interception in last week’s 31-14 loss to UCLA. Running back Royce Freeman rushed for 160 yards but it wasn’t enough as the Bruins kept him out of the end zone and the Ducks offense was held to just 14 points. Without a capable quarterback on the field, the Oregon defense was completely exposed.
Outlook
The Utah-Oregon betting line hasn’t done a whole lot since opening up. Utah opened up at -3 as a road favorite in this spot. They are still currently laying -3. We did see the line go to -3.5 and to -4 briefly but in the end, it has come back to -3. The progression of the total has been a little bit more steady. We saw the total open up at 54 but the line has continued to drop since then. Clearly, bettors seem to feel that whoever wins this game, it will be a low-scoring affair.
The fact that Utah is a three-point favorite on the road this weekend speaks volumes about the state of the Ducks program. Oregon is coming off three straight double-digit losses and likely won’t have its best quarterback under center on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Utes are coming off a lopsided loss of their own. That might have had more to do with a letdown following back-to-back close defeats to Pac-12 contenders than anything else. Utah should bounce back with a much better effort this week and should be able to beat the Ducks and cover as a three-point favorite on the road.
Prediction: Utah -3
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