Utah Utes vs. Washington State Cougars Picks, Predictions, Odds

Daniel Dobish Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

The Utah Utes and Washington State Cougars get together for a Pac-12 conference game Thursday at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on FS1.

Updated on 12/22/2024

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UTAH UTES vs. WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS BETTING PREDICTION

Utah has had a wild ride in the month of October. It started out with a convincing 42-16 win over a decent Oregon State team on Oct. 1, covering a 10.5-point number. The Utes traveled to UCLA on Oct. 8 and were dropped 42-32 in a high-scoring affair, failing to cash as a road favorite. Instead of moping, the Utes got back to work and scored an emotional win over USC at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, edging the Trojans 43-42.

In that USC game, the Utes were down 14 on a couple of occasions, but kept scrapping back. QB Cameron Rising ran for a 1-yard score with :48 left in regulation, and rather than going for the tie, head coach Kyle Whittingham elected to go for two, and get it, as Rising scored to make it 43-42. The Trojans had their chance still, with less than a minute, but the Utes hung on. Rising threw for 415 yards and became the first Utah QB to throw for more than 400 yards since Brian Johnson back in 2015.

As far as common opponents are concerned, Washington State has faced both USC and Oregon State on the road in the past two games, losing both outings by at least 14 points. The defense was hot early, and the offense has struggled lately, with the UNDER cashing in six of the past seven games overall. Utah should be able to add to the woes of Washington in this road battle.

Score Prediction: Utah 34, Washington State 20
Best Bet: Utah -7 (-107)
Best Bet: UNDER 55.5 (-110)

UTAH UTES vs. WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS BETTING ODDS

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UTAH UTES vs. WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022
Matchup: Pac-12
Venue: Martin Stadium
Location: Pullman, Washington
Time-TV: FS1, 10:00 p.m. ET
Expert Picks

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UTAH UTES BETTING ANALYSIS

The Utes started off the season with a 29-26 loss at Florida, and a 42-32 setback at UCLA was all but likely the death knell for Utah's College Football Playoff chances. However, Utah scored the nice win against USC, and has convincing wins over Arizona State, Oregon State and San Diego State to enhance its resume and keep hopes alive for another New Year's Day bowl game.

Utah is a fun team to watch on offense, rolling up 473.3 total yards per game to rank 20th, while registering 40.7 PPG to rank 11th in the country. The Utes enjoy a balanced attack, too, posting 280.3 passing yards per game, and 193.0 rushing yards per outing, which ranks them 36th or better in the nation in each category.

Defensively, Utah has it going on, too, although maybe not in the past two games against UCLA and USC. Utah is still a respectable 42nd in the nation with 22.3 PPG, while allowing just 350.3 total yards per game to check in 37th.

Utah is 19-9 ATS in the past 28 Pac-12 games, while cashing in six of the past eight against winning teams. The Utes are 4-1 ATS in their past five appearances on a Thursday, too. For totals, it's all OVER all the time, going 6-2 in the past eight overall, and 8-1 in the past nine road outings. The OVER is also 12-5 in the past 17 inside the conference.

WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS BETTING ANALYSIS

The Cougars appeared to have found the gas pedal in mid-September on offense, going for 28 or more points in three straight games against Colorado State, Oregon and Cal, and it had covered four straight games from Sept. 10 to Oct. 1. But in the past two games, both on the road at Oregon State and USC, the offense has mustered just 12.0 PPG.

This is not a good offense, and Washington State is pass-heavy, with just 91.1 rushing yards per game, 124th out of 131 FBS teams. This team averages just 24.6 PPG, which is 95th in the nation, and that will be a problem trying to keep up with the Utes.

On defense, Wazzu allows just 20.7 PPG, and it will rely heavily on its D to keep it in the game. The Cougs are especially good against the run, allowing just 123.7 yards per game on the ground, 39th-best in the country.

Washington State has covered 12 of the past 17 games overall, while going 7-1 ATS in the past eight on The Palouse. But this team has failed to cover in the past five Thursday appearances, as the change of day from Saturday seems to knock their off their axis.

For totals, the UNDER is 7-1 in the past eight overall for Wazzu, while going 16-5 in the past 21 against winning teams. The good news is that the Cougs have covered five of the past seven against the Utes, but that's not happening here.

UTAH UTES vs. WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS BETTING TRENDS

• Utah is 19-9 ATS in the past 28 Pac-12 games
• Utah is 6-2 ATS in the past eight vs. winning teams
• Utah is 4-1 ATS in the past five Thursday games
• Washington State is 12-5 ATS in the past 17 games overall
• Washington State is 7-1 ATS in the past eight home games
• Washington State is 9-3 ATS in the past 12 Pac-12 games
• Washington State is 0-5 ATS in the past five Thursday games
• OVER is 6-2 in the past eight games overall for Utah
• OVER is 8-1 in the past nine road games for Utah
• OVER is 12-5 in the past 17 Pac-12 games for Utah
• OVER is 5-0 in the past five vs. winning teams for Utah
• UNDER is 7-1 in the past eight games for Washington State
• UNDER is 16-5 in the past 21 vs. winning teams for Washington State
• OVER is 4-1 in the past five Thursday games for Washington State
• Washington State is 5-2 ATS in the past seven meetings

Daniel Dobish

Dan is a handicapper and sports betting expert for VegasInsider with years of experience writing for a number of top publications in the industry. More from Daniel Dobish