Washington at Utah – Preview and Prediction
WASHINGTON 10 UTAH (54)
MEGALOCKS LINE – Washington -8 Sagarin ratings – Washington -11.5
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: Washington 32 Utah 22
Massey Ratings Projected Score: Washington 28 Utah 23
The Game
It’s a battle of PAC 12 heavyweights on Saturday as the undefeated Washington Huskies travel to face the Utah Utes. Washington is sitting at 7-0 and is tied top the PAC 12 North standings with rival Washington St. Neither team has a conference loss as of yet. Utah is tied with Colorado (!) at the top of the PAC 12 South standings and have a showdown with the Buffaloes in the final weekend of the season. Yes, this game could be a preview of the PAC 12 Title Game, but history has taught us that you should never get too far ahead of yourself.
The Match-Up
Washington offense vs Utah defense
The Huskies have been rolling right along, and other than the close game at Arizona, they have blown every opponent to pieces. That includes Stanford and Oregon. The running game has been really good and QB Jake Browning is the #2 rated passer in the FBS with 26 TD passes vs 2 INT. They had a nice tune-up last week vs Oregon St rushing for over 300 yards and passing for 200. The Huskies have done a really nice job of keep Browning clean in the pocket, and generally speaking, do not give up many negative plays.
The Utes’ defense has been pretty solid at home giving up 0,19,27,23 in four games. They also held Cal to just 28 on the road. Utah is a JUGGERNAUT at forcing turnovers and lead the PAC 12 with 22 takeaways (Washington is 2nd). Utah is a bit banged up on defense but they are very well coached and will fight you for every yard. This is a yuuuuuge test for the Utes and we think they will be able to hold their own for most of the game. Our biggest concern is the speedy WR group for the Huskies.
Utah offense vs Washington defense
Hello Joe Williams. As MEGALOCKS PAC 12 DEEP INSIDERS reported a couple of weeks ago, RB Joe Williams came out of self-imposed retirement to give the Utes a much needed boost in the running game. UCLA HC Jim Mora was pleased to watch Williams rip apart the Bruins’ defense for 332 yards (!!) and 4 TDs. They knew what was coming and it did not matter. That gives Super Joe over 500 yards on the ground in the past two weeks. Washington’s run defense is ranked #3 in the PAC 12 in yards per carry defense (3.72) so this should be a really interesting match-up. Something tells us that Utah may have more success than we think running the ball at home and with a ton of recent momentum. QB Troy Williams only has 7 TD passes all season and the Huskies’ secondary is excellent. Prognosis: A lot of running.
MEGA-MAZEMENT !
Utah celebrated their first ever victory over Washington with a 34-23 road win last season….Washington is ranked #1 in the FBS in turnover margin whilst Utah is ranked #9…Apparently the UNDER PROP for total turnovers is looking spicy…..Utah has won four games (BYU, USC, Oregon St, UCLA) by a combined 17 points….That could mean they are not as good as we think…Or it could mean that they are going to be in this game to the bitter end. Stay tuned.
Summary
You know we love us some Washington Huskies. This just feels like an awful lot of points to be laying against the Utes. Both teams are well coached. Both teams have fine special teams units.
Conclusion
Official play: None.
Lean: Utah +10 or better. Under nothing worse than 54. Either would be for small potatoes only.