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The Utah Utes will be returning home after a two-game road trip. The Utes and the Washington State Cougars will face off in a Pac-12 battle at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah is expected to win again but is hoping to meet expectations this time.
Utah fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against the San Diego State Aztecs last week but wound up with a less-than-desirable result, falling 33-31. The contest was a 10-10 toss-up at halftime, but Utah was outplayed the rest of the way. One thing working slightly against Utah was the run-of-the-mill game of their most targeted running back, RB Micah Bernard, who rushed for 47 yards on 17 carries.
Meanwhile, Washington State found themselves the reluctant recipients of an unpleasant 45-14 punch to the gut against the USC Trojans last week. The Cougars were down 35-14 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. No one had a standout game offensively for Washington State, but they got scores from WR Travell Harris and QB Jayden de Laura.
This next game looks promising for the Utes, who are favored by a full 14.5 points. They may be expected to win, but bettors beware: they are 0-2 against the spread when favored.
The losses bumped both teams down to an identical 1-2. Two defensive stats to keep an eye on: Utah is 158th worst in the nation in passing touchdowns allowed, with five on the season. The Cougars have experienced some passing struggles of their own as they are stumbling into the game with the 226th most passing yards allowed per game in the nation, having given up 312 on average. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
