After a hard-fought, three-point road victory against Oklahoma State, it appeared Utah was well on its way to putting together a strong resume for the College Football Playoff.
However, the Utes followed that game up by getting drubbed on their home turf by Arizona, dropping them from No. 10 to No. 16 in the AP Poll.
On Friday, Utah hits the road to face 4-1 Arizona State, one of the Big 12’s biggest surprises halfway through the season.
The Utes enter as 4.5-point road favorites, down a point from the opening line. The over/under is set at 45. Here’s our prediction and pick for the game.
Utah quickly went from being a strong candidate for a CFP berth, after locking down a win on the road against No. 14 Oklahoma State, to having its backs up against the wall midway through the season.
Unfortunately for the Utes, their win over OSU has deteriorated in value, as the Cowboys went on to lose their last two games to Kansas State and West Virginia.
To keep their CFP hopes alive, Utah might not be able to afford to lose on Friday, especially with BYU, Iowa State and a suddenly resurgent Colorado team left on the schedule.
While the Utes have been bitten by injuries, most notably to quarterback Cam Rising, they still will be held to a high standard when the selection committee has to make its decision.
So, what’s the Week 7 status for Rising, who hasn’t played since injuring his fingers against Baylor on Sept. 7? We finally have an answer — he’s playing.
That’s great news for the Utes because Rising is game-changing player. Unsurprisingly, Utah became somewhat of a one-dimensional offense with true freshman Isaac Wilson under center in Rising’s absence.
Wilson had thrown more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (6), so opposing defenses were able to apply consistent pressure in the pass rush and stack the box.
The strategy worked, as Utah had the 83rd-best run grade in the country, per Pro Football Focus. That would have been unimaginable when the season began.
With Rising back, everything changes. He is one of the best and most experienced quarterbacks in the nation (eighth-best run grade for QBs in 2022, 36th-best offense grade, per PFF), so his presence should elevate the Utes offense from a one-dimensional, ground-reliant attack to a well-balanced force.
While Arizona State has held its opponents to the 11th-fewest rushing yards per game on the 11th-fewest yards per rushing attempt this season, the Sun Devils’ competition has been mediocre, with a 59th strength of schedule rating through the first six weeks.
The Utes are a fringe top-10 team in the country with Rising under center, and should be in a fantastic bounce-back spot after a double-digit home loss to Arizona.
Pick: Utah -5.5 (-105, Caesars)
Andrew Norton handicaps the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he achieved a standout 14.1% ROI, cashing 60% of his NBA spread picks and leading Tallysight in its SportsIQ metric.
