In the Pac-12 Championship Game, the No. 10 Washington Huskies (-5) are favorites as they prepare to battle the No. 17 Utah Utes. The matchup gets underway at 8:00 p.m. ET and FOX is scheduled to broadcast the action.
Betting Preview: Utah Utes at Washington Huskies
Utah is a live dog in this Friday matchup and is currently getting 5 points. The Utes are also receiving +180 moneyline odds while the Huskies are -220. Oddsmakers have determined the over/under (O/U) to be 45 points, and if one squad can create a bunch of points early on, it’ll likely lead to a reasonable live betting scenario.
The game’s total has not changed after being set initially at 45. Having said that, the line opened at -4 so square bettors are hammering the Huskies.
The Utes are 7-5 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 3.2 units so far in 2018. The team has posted an O/U record of 6-5.
The Huskies are down 0.9 units this season. The team is 3-9 ATS and has an O/U record of 3-9.
The Utes have gone 9-3 straight up (SU), including 6-3 SU against Pac-12 opponents. The Huskies are 9-3 SU overall and 7-2 SU in conference play.
Each team enters the contest on a three-game winning streak. The Utes are coming off a 35-27 victory over BYU last week. Jason Shelley completed 19-of-28 passes for just 141 yards and one touchdown. Armand Shyne (47 rushing yards on 15 attempts, two TDs) and the signal-caller Shelley (61 yards on 11 carries, one TD) spearheaded the ground attack. Demari Simpkins (five receptions, 21 yards) and Britain Covey (four catches, nine yards) shared the receiving duties in the win.
Washington is coming off of a 28-15 win over Washington State. The Huskies defensive unit held its territory in the victory, keeping the Cougars to just 152 passing yards and 85 yards on the ground. James Williams had a good outing in the defeat, recording 65 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 attempts for Washington State. For Washington, Jake Browning completed 11-of-14 passes for 207 yards and one interception. Myles Gaskin (170 yards on 27 rush attempts, three TDs) and Salvon Ahmed (87 yards on nine carries) mounted the running game while Andre Baccellia (five receptions, 89 yards) and Hunter Bryant (three catches, 108 yards, one TD) led the receiving attack in the win.
In terms of offensive play-calling, each squad sports a remarkably similar (60-40) run-pass ratio on the season. The Utes have rushed for 197.8 yards per game (including 209.2 per game versus Pac-12 opponents) and have 23 scores on the ground this year. The Huskies are putting up 185.0 rush yards per game (192.9 in conference) and have 24 total rushing TDs.
It appears that the Utes ought to have an edge in terms of effectiveness in the ground game, as their running backs has produced 4.7 yards per carry while the defense is allowing 3.0 yards per rush attempt to opponents. The Huskies have rushed for 4.5 yards per carry and allowed a YPC of 3.7 to opponents.
The Utes offensive scheme has logged 215.2 yards/game in the air overall (204.0 per game against conference opposition) and has 17 passing scores so far. The Huskies have recorded 236.3 pass yards per contest (203 in the Pac-12) and have 18 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Utah has let opponents rush for an average of 100.3 yards and pass for 215.5 yards per game. The Washington defense has given up 190.9 yards per game to opposing passers and 123.6 yards per game on the ground. Both teams allow similar adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) to the opposition, as the Utes have given up an ANY/A of 4.75 to opposing QBs, while the Huskies are yielding an ANY/A of 4.74.
Passing-wise, Shelley has put up 502 yards this season. The signal-caller has connected on 43-of-73 attempts with one passing scores and one interception. He has a 5.90 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number is 7.66 over the past two games.
Jake Browning has completed 179-of-278 passes for 2,450 yards, 13 TDs and nine INTs for Washington. His ANY/A sits at 7.35 for the season and 10.85 over his last two games.
When these two teams faced each other last year, Washington knocked Utah off by a field goal 33-30.
Utah Utes vs. Washington Huskies NCAA Prediction
SU Winner: Washington, ATS Winner: Washington, O/U: Over
Team Betting Notes
- The O/U for Utah’s last game going into it was 45. The over cashed in the team’s 35-27 win over BYU.
- As a team, Utah has averaged 4.2 yards per rush attempt over its last three games and 3.9 over its last two.
- Washington has averaged 5.4 yards per carry over its last three outings and 6.2 over its past two.
- The Washington offense has lost five fumbles this season while Utah has lost 10.
- Over its last three games, Utah is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- Utah has won eight of its last nine games SU, with a November 3rd defeat to Arizona State accounting for the only loss over that stretch.
- The O/U for Washington’s last game was set at 50. The under cashed in the 28-15 win over Washington State.
- In its last three contests, Washington is 1-2 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
- The Utes offense has produced 11 pass plays of 40 or more yards, while the Huskies have accounted for nine such plays.
- The Utah defense has allowed seven pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Washington has given up zero such plays.
- The Utah offense has created 23 rushing plays of 20+ yards, while Washington has created 19 such runs.
- Both teams have allowed seven rushing plays of 20+ yards. The Utes have given up 41 running plays of 10+ yards while the Huskies have given up 39 such plays.
- The Utah defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 34 times this season. Washington has registered just 19 sacks.
