#4 Washington Huskies at #17 Utah Utes
Saturday, October 29, 2016, 3:30 pm Eastern, TV: Fox Sports 1
Rice-Eccles Stadium – Salt Lake City, Utah
Opening Line: Washington -10 1/2
Current Line: Washington -10 (-115)
Opening Total: 52 1/2
Current Total: 54
Opening Money Line: Washington -400 / Utah +325
Current Money Line: Washington -390 / Utah +320
There are nine undefeated teams left in FBS Football and seven of those teams face tough road games Saturday. The 7-0 Washington Huskies are #4 in the polls and travel to the 7-1 Utah Utes who are #17 in the polls. The Huskies are 4-0 in the Pac 12 North and tied for first with Washington State. Utah is 4-1 in the Pac 12 South and tied for first with Colorado.
Washington leads the series 8-1 against Utah. The Utes got their first ever win against the Huskies last year 34-23 in Seattle. This is only the second time ever that Washington and Utah will meet in Salt Lake City.
Washington is coached by Chris Petersen. The Huskies have home wins over Rutgers 48-13, Idaho 59-14, Portland State 41-3, Stanford 44-6 and Oregon State 41-17 last week. Washington has road wins over Arizona 35-28 in overtime and 70-21 over Oregon. The Huskies were 36.5 point favorites against Oregon State and the total was 53. Washington is 4-3 ATS and the total is 6-1 this season.
Utah is coached by Kyle Whittingham. Utah has home wins over Southern Utah 24-0, BYU 20-19, USC 31-27, and Arizona 36-23, plus road wins at San Jose State 34-17, Oregon State 19-14 and UCLA 52-45 last week. Utah lost at California 28-23. Utah was a 3.5 point underdog against UCLA and the total was 42.5. The Utes are 4-4 ATS and the total is 4-4 this season.
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Washington is outscoring teams 48-15 this season. The Huskies are #6 or better in both categories nationally. Washington averages 487 yards per game on offense including 259 passing and 228 rushing yards. The Huskies are #24 in both total and rushing offense nationally. On defense, the Huskies allow 319 total yards including 173 passing yards and 144 rushing yards. Washington is #14 or better in total and pass defense. The Huskies are +14 in turnovers with 19 takeaways. Washington averages 50 penalty yards per game and opponents average 42. The Huskies are 39/80 on third and fourth down conversions and opponents are 46/130. Washington has forced 25 sacks and allowed 12 sacks this season. The Huskies are 30/33 with 26 touchdowns and opponents are 14/19 with 10 touchdowns. Washington has outscored teams 200-24 in the first half this season.
Quarterback Jake Browning has completed 68.6% of his passes for 1,709 yards with 26 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, along with 69 rushing yards on 31 carries and 4 touchdowns. He is a Heisman contender. K.J. Carta-Samuels has thrown for 104 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Running back Myles Gaskin has 116 carries for 727 yards and 6 touchdowns, plus 8 catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. Lavon Coleman has 51 carries for 432 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 3 catches for 19 yards. Jamon Dotson has 45 carries for 222 yards and a touchdown, plus 2 catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Receiver John Ross has 34 catches for 486 yards and 9 touchdowns, along with 55 rushing yards and a touchdown. Dante Pettis has 27 catches for 457 yards and 8 touchdowns. Chico McClatcher has 16 catches for 313 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 8 carries for 63 yards. Darrell Daniels has 11 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. Aaron Fuller has 10 catches and 2 touchdowns. Five other Huskies have a touchdown catch.
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Utah is outscoring teams 30-22 this season. The Utes are #31 nationally in points allowed. Utah averages 433 yards per game on offense including 219 passing and 214 rushing. Utah is #32 in rushing national. On defense, the Utes allow 363 yards per game including 243 passing and 119 rushing yards. Utah is #35 or better in total and rushing defense. The Utes are +8 in turnovers with 22 takeaways. Utah averages 64 penalty yards per game and opponents average 53 per game. The Utes are 55/133 on third and fourth down conversions and opponents are 41/112. Utah has forced 22 sacks and allowed 15 this season. The Utes are 29/39 scoring in the red zone with 20 touchdowns and opponents are 15/17 with 11 touchdowns.
Quarterback Troy Williams has completed 55.9% of his passes for 1,725 yards with 7 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, plus 68 carries for 145 yards and 5 touchdowns. Williams began his career at Washington and actually started a game for the Huskies a couple of years ago. Tyler Huntley has also taken a few snaps.
Running back Joe Williams retired earlier in the season for a month because of injury. When the Utes had a slew of injuries at running back Whittingham asked him to come back to the team. He has 85 carries for 586 yards and 5 touchdowns. Armand Shyne had 78 carries for 373 yards and 4 touchdowns. He is out for the season with a knee injury. Zack Moss has 70 carriers for 315 yards with 2 touchdowns. He is questionable for undisclosed reasons. Troy McCormick has 36 carries for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns, plus 8 catches for 83 yards. He is also questionable for undisclosed reasons. Jordan Howard is also questionable for undisclosed reasons.
Receiver Tim Patrick has 24 catches for 429 yards and 5 touchdowns. Raelon Singleton has 19 catches for 307 yards and a touchdown. Corry Butler-Byrd has 17 catches for 263 yards, aplong with 17 carries for 93 rushing yards. Evan Moeai has 14 catches for 196 yards. Tyrone Smith has 10 catches for 148 yards and a touchdown. Four defensive players are questionable or out.
Washington is 4-1 ATS against teams with winning records, 7-2 on fieldturf, 9-3 after accumulating 200 rushing yards or more, 7-3 overall, 16-7 after failing to cover, and 19-44-2 in October.
Utah is 4-0 ATS after allowing more than 450 total yards, 5-1 after scoring more than 40 points, 11-4 after rushing for 200 yards or more, 7-3 after allowing less than 100 rushing yards, 11-5 after allowing more than 280 passing yards 1-4 after alowing more than 40 points, 1-5 after a cover, and 0-4 against teams with winning road records.
I know Utah scored 52 points against UCLA last week, but the Utes do not want to get into a shootout with Washington or they will get blown out. Washington has blown out teams in the first half. I think the Huskies win but the Utes stay within 10 points.
