Utah
vs.
Oregon State
College Football Pick
10/15/16
By Jason Green
Utah got over their first loss of the season with a win in their last Game and they are tied with Arizona State and Colorado, who they still face, atop the Pac 12 South Division. They have a very balanced offense and their defense ranks 20th in the nation only giving up an average of 19 ppg.
Oregon State snapped their 2 Game losing streak in their last Game beating Cal, who handed the Utes their only loss of the season. They have a decent rushing attack, but only rank 117th in passing yards per Game and 100th in opponents points per Game. The Beavers can move to .500 with a win, but they are a 9-point home underdog this Saturday.
Utah beat Arizona 36-23 at home in their last Game and they covered the spread as a 9.5-point favorite. Oregon State won a barnburner beating Cal 47-44 in OT in their last Game where they were at home and covered as a 13.5-point underdog.
Oregon State is a solid 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Games facing Utah.
Troy Williams leads the Utes and while the QB did not have a great completion percentage in the win over Arizona he passed for 245 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT. He has not been picked off in his last 3 Games. One big concern for the Utes is lead WR Tim Patrick, who sat out the Arizona Game with an ankle injury and is question for this Game. He has 429 receiving yards while the next leading target has 217 yards.
RB Armand Shyne leads the Utes in rushing yards, but is out for the season with an injury suffered in the Arizona Game. 2nd leading rusher Zack Moss also did not play last week and he is a question mark for this Game. One thing Utah has going from them is that whoever is in the backfield will face an OSU run D that only ranks 112th in the nation.
Oregon State RB Ryan Nall had been decent on the season in the first 4 Games, but in the big win over Cal he had a career day rushing for 221 yards and 3 TD. The Beavers need to run the ball to win, as they do not have a great aerial attack. However, QB Darell Garretson, who had 2 INT and 0 TD, in the win over Cal may want to go to the air since the Utes pass defense is weaker than their solid run defense.
Utah is a solid 10-4 ATS in their last 14 road Games, but only 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Games following a ATS win.
Oregon State is only 7-17 ATS in their last 24 Games overall and 4-10 ATS in their last 14 home Games.
The Utah offense not exactly lighting up scoreboards this year, so we question their ability to extend a margin in this one. Prefer to take points with live home dog. Oregon State +9.5