NCAA College Football Betting – BYU Cougars @ Utah Utes
BCS implications abound in what is already being billed as the Mountain West Conference game of the year when the BYU Cougars (10-1 SU, 3-7 ATS) travel to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Utes (11-0 SU, 6-4 ATS).
BYU is trying to climb back to a Top 10 ranking and grab a share of the MWC title with a sports betting win against in-state rival Utah. However, the Utes are looking to keep their dream undefeated season alive and a win would not only secure a conference championship, but a BCS bowl game berth.
QB Max Hall is no longer considered a Heisman Trophy contender, but his numbers have him in contention to win the MWC Offensive Player of the Year. BYU bettors have seen Hall’s excellence all season, watching the quarterback complete 71.5% of his passes for 3424 yards and 34 touchdowns with eight interceptions.
In his last game, a 38-24 NCAA wagering win against Air Force, Hall completed 28-of-37 passes for 354 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The win snapped a six game losing streak against the college football gambling odds for the Cougars. Sometimes lost in all of the talk of how great Hall is, is his favorite target, WR Austin Collie. Collie is far and away the MWC’s leader in every receiving category on the year with 85 catches for 1315 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season.
Hall’s main competition for the MWC Offensive Player of the Year award is Utah QB Brian Johnson. Johnson has completed 66.6% of his passes on the year for 2333 yards and 20 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He’s also rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on the season. In the Utes 63-14 college football betting blowout against San Diego State last Saturday, Johnson completed 27-of-38 passes for 283 yards with a TD/INT ratio of 5:1.
Not to be outdone, DB Deshawn Richard also significantly helped Utes bettors by picking off two passes in the fourth quarter and returning them both for touchdowns. Utah’s offense has been stellar this season scoring 30 points or more in eight of its 11 games, which has been good for NCAA gamblers that wager on college football games to go over the ‘total’ as 80% of Utes games have gone over the posted number this year.
College football betting trends to know for this game are: BYU is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 road games against a team with a winning home record, the Utes are 9-4-1 ATS against teams with winning records, and the underdog is 9-2 ATS in the last 11 head-to-head meetings in this series.
NCAA lines have the Utes as a 6.5-point home favorite in this MWC game with a ‘total’ of 54 points.
