Utah hosts Arizona on Friday at 10 p.m. ET, with the winner getting a huge leg up in the chase for a conference title game berth. Utah is just 1-2 in the Pac-12, but comes in with confident after slashing Stanford 40-21 last Saturday. Arizona is a surprising 2-1, its lone defeat a 24-20 setback to USC. Both teams look to position themselves in the South Division.
Utah is a 13.5-point favorite and the over-under for total points scored is 52 in the latest Utah vs. Arizona odds. Before you make any Utah vs. Arizona picks, listen to what SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh has to say.
The renowned co-founder of AccuScore, Oh simulates each game 10,000 times using the SportsLine projection model. He is crushing college football in 2018 and heads into this week on an 8-4 run on his point-spread selections. Moreover, he has had a keen eye for the tendencies of Utah, as he's nailed six-consecutive picks on games involving the Utes.
Now, Oh has scrutinized Arizona vs. Utah from every possible angle to reveal a strong point-spread pick that he's sharing only at SportsLine.
Oh knows Arizona is averaging 244 yards passing and 202 yards rushing per game, led by QB Khalil Tate. Last season, Tate was among the nation's top dual-threat QBs, throwing for 1,591 yards and running for 1,411 more.
This season, there was a transition to a more traditional QB role under new coach Kevin Sumlin. After a transition that started with a loss to BYU and a blowout defeat from Houston, Tate and the Wildcats have turned it around, winning three of four and starting 2-1 in the Pac-12.
He has had a sound run game to rely on. Sophomore JJ Taylor has 600 yards rushing on 5.8 yards per attempt, while Gary Brightwell has 303 yards on 5.3 per carry.
Utah's defense has been tough to score on -- it was ranked No. 1 in the country before allowing 445 yards in a 28-24 loss to Washington State. Against Washington, the Utes held the Huskies to 311 total yards, but the offense didn't muster much in a 21-7 loss. Last week, a 100-yard pick-six highlighted a 24-7 first half at Stanford in its impressive win. The defense still ranks No. 3 against the run.
QB Tyler Huntley has dictated how effective the offense has been. In Utah's two losses, he averaged just 128 yards passing, a 55.2 completion percentage, no TDs, and one INT. In the three wins, he averaged 254 yards, a 67.4 completion percentage, five TDs, and one INT.
We can tell you Oh is leaning toward the over, but he has also unearthed the crucial x-factor that makes one side of the spread a must-back. He's only sharing at SportsLine.
Who covers Arizona-Utah? And what crucial factor causes one side of the spread to hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you need to jump all over Friday, all from the data scientist who's 6-0 on his picks involving Utah.