NCAA Week 8 Football Betting – Colorado State Rams at Utah Utes
The undefeated Utes of the University of Utah (7-0 SU, 3-2-1 ATS) look to improve their national ranking on Saturday afternoon when they take on the Colorado State Rams (3-3 SU, 3-2 ATS) in NCAA football action in the Mountain West Conference, scheduled to get underway at 2 PM ET at Rice-Eccles Stadium (artificial turf) in Salt Lake City.
Saturday, October 18
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: UTAH -23
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* CSU has lost 19 of its last 25 games SU
* CSU has covered three of its last ten road games
* CSU has lost ten of its last 11 road games SU
* CSU has played four of its last five road games UNDER the total
* UTAH has won its last eight games SU
* UTAH has won its last nine home games SU
* UTAH has won and covered four of the last five meetings
We know a few things, fundamentally speaking, as we go into this matchup. One is that Utah certainly knows how to defend against run (2.55 yards per carry) and that this team has accomplished this against a slate of opposition that includes Michigan (AT Ann Arbor), Air Force (5th nationally in rushing) and Oregon State, a victor a couple of weeks ago against USC. So let’s not accuse the Utes of dieting on very weak foes, as least as far as this discussion is concerned.
That is important because while Colorado State has moved the ball against the country’s 93rd (Houston) and 108th-ranked (UNLV) defenses, they have come up short against the likes of Colorado, TCU and California. The same can be said of Gartrell Johnson, who has gained 521 yards, with 264 of them coming against UNLV and Sacramento State. CSU has given up 19 sacks on the year, so the Rams had better figure out a way to run the ball so Utah’s defensive linemen don’t just pin their ears back and run at QB Billy Farris, who’s thrown just one TD pass and three interceptions in the last three games.
Brian Johnson has seemed like one of those fraternity brothers from Delta Tau Delta in “Animal House.” I mean, he has been there forever, hasn’t he? Actually, he’s a sixth-year senior and is providing a steady if not spectacular hand for the Utes, completing 65% of his passes. But maybe the question comes down to whether Utah has all it takes to pull away enough to cover this roomy number. Last year Colorado State could not deal with the Utah running game (322 yards) in a 27-3 defeat. Utah is moving at only half that pace this season. And while they have been able to create a load of distance against teams who were offensively inept, we wouldn’t necessarily put CSU in this category.
We’ll take advantage of the Utes being overpriced, and in a small recommendation, grab the 23 points with Colorado State, the underdog in the BetUS NCAA college football betting odds.
