- The Utah Utes are 3-point home favorites over the Oregon Ducks after the spread opened with Utah favored by 1 point.
- Oregon has covered the spread in four of the last six meetings between the two teams, while the points total has gone over in seven of their last eight meetings.
SALT LAKE CITY – One of the highlights of this week’s college football slate is a PAC-12 showdown featuring the Utah Utes playing host to the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
(#3) Oregon Ducks Vs. (#23) Utah Utes Betting Odds
- Oregon +3 (EVEN)
- Utah -3 (-120)
- Oregon +135
- Utah -160
- Over 59.5 (-105)
- Under 59.5 (-115)
Utah opened as slim 1-point favorites on online sportsbooks, but betting action has moved the spread to 3. Similarly, the points total opened at 60.5, but since moved slightly to 59.5. points.
While the 9-1 Oregon Ducks have played well enough to earn the College Football Playoff Committee’s respect (the Ducks shot up to the #3 spot in this week’s rankings), they have been a difficult team to back for bettors, holding just a 4-6 record against the spread. This is a trend that has established itself pretty strongly in recent history, with Oregon covering in just five of their last 15 matchups.
Despite their overall struggles against the spread recently, the Ducks have performed better in that regard over the past few games, covering in three of their last four matchups.
Oregon has covered the spread in four of the last six meetings between the two teams, while the total has gone over in seven of the last eight meetings between the two teams.
The 7-3 Utah Utes also received some respect from the committee this week, sliding into the rankings at the #23 spot. Utah won their third straight game last week when they took down Arizona 38-29, failing to cover as 24-point favorites.
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The failure to cover dropped Utah to just 4-6 against the spread.
Handicapping The Game
From an offensive standpoint, the game is fairly evenly matched. Oregon ranks 32nd in college football in total offensive yards per game with 441.3, while Utah ranks 36th in the same metric with 438.1 yards per game. Oregon has scored 45 touchdowns on the year, while Utah has scored 44. Utah has averaged 6.46 yards per play, while Oregon trails slightly in that category with 6.37 yards per play.
Both teams have also performed similarly on defense, with Oregon allowing 22.6 points per game and Utah allowing 23.8 points per game. Oregon has allowed 3.48 yards per carry to opposing running backs, while Utah sits at 3.84 yards per carry.
Last week against Washington State, Oregon leaned heavily on the run game, tallying four rushing touchdowns by three separate players. Utah has been better against the run than the pass in the red zone, allowing just eight of their 21 red zone scores on the ground.
If Oregon can successfully establish the run game against Utah, they stand a good chance of winning the game outright and cashing their (+135) moneyline odds. If Utah can control the line of scrimmage, they stand a good chance of covering the 3-point spread.
This is about as evenly-matched as a matchup can be, though Oregon undoubtedly has more motivation to win with their playoff hopes at stake.
Jerad is a new addition to the USAOnlineSportbooks.com writing team, writing about all things related to sports gambling. As an ex-college baseball player, he pairs a first-hand knowledge of the inner workings of high-level sports teams with years of experience successfully betting on many different sports in order to bring valuable insights to bettors. He also studied political science at UCF, equipping him with the knowledge to cover the political, legal, and legislative aspects of sports gambling.
