The Pac-12 Friday Night Lights are once again the focus of our writeup as the Wildcats of Arizona travel to Salt Lake City to square off against the Utes of Utah. This game marks the first non-Saturday road game for the Wildcats since 2014. This matchup will have a bearing on the Pac-12 standings, especially as Colorado plays USC Saturday night. Dark horse Heisman candidate Khalil Tate will look to break the hard defense of Utah, while the Utes will look to crack the surprisingly good defense of the Wildcats. Arizona Head Coach Kevin Sumlin is clearly focused on defense and the run game, as last season Khalil Tate got to break out and push the pace, whereas this season they’ve been lots more conservative. Utah is coming off a huge win at Stanford, so will they have a letdown spot coming home off a huge win? Or will they be able to tame the Wildcats in Salt Lake? Let’s look into the details and see if we can get back in the winning column this week.
Arizona vs. Utah College Football Preview
Date/Time: Friday, October 12th at 10:00pm EST
TV: ESPN
College Football Betting Odds from 5Dimes
College Football Betting Favorite: Utah -13.5
Total: 51.5
Arizona Wildcats
The Arizona Wildcats are coming off a very misleading victory over Cal last weekend. The Wildcats were outgained by more than 200 yards, they were the beneficiaries of two pick-6 TDs which definitely allowed them to cruise to a win. Khalil Tate is not healthy, but more than that, he’s being extremely mismanaged by coach Kevin Sumlin. Last season, he was a human highlight reel, literally making Sportscenter Top 10 every week. Now, he’s barely completing half his passes and the offense is more vanilla than a McDonalds ice cream cone. The defense of Arizona is their calling card this season, ranked #2 in the Pac-12 and holding opponents to 18.3 points per game. Arizona’s strength of schedule is #71 in the country, and they’ve played a much easier schedule than that of Utah. If Arizona will find success against the Utes, it’s going to be difficult to do it on the ground. While the Wildcats are a run-heavy team, Utah is ranked 3rd in the nation in yards per carry allowed. This should be the game we see Sumlin release the hounds and let QB Khalil Tate loose with the play-action assault.
Utah Utes
The Utes are led by Kyle Whittingham, who is a defensive-minded guy first and foremost. Utah is ranked #3 in rush defense, #10 in total defense, and #2 in red zone defense. These are all national rankings, and they lead the Pac-12 in six different defensive measurements. Suffice to say, they’ll be stifling the run and pass game of Arizona. Kevin Sumlin was quoted in a press conference this past Monday, speaking about Utah’s vaunted defense, “They’re the number one defense in the league statistically, number one run-defense in the league, number one red-zone defense in the league,” Sumlin said. “So, you know it’s the best defense in the league right now. They’ve got a lot of experience, size, and athleticism.” Sumlin plays checkers while Whittingham plays chess though, and the Utes have a marked advantage at the head coaching spot, and it’ll show in this game. The line might be a tad high however, with the line being over 20% of the actual total itself. Utah’s only quality win of the season has been over Stanford. Utah lost to both Washington and Washington State, with wins over patsies. What Utah will we see on Friday? The only consistent trend of the team has been its defense, which is what we’re banking on to show up huge.
Sin City Sharp (@SinCitySharp on Twitter) Free Pick:
We have two teams playing on a short week, with Arizona in a travel spot. The consistency of both these teams is their defense, with Utah being ranked #1 and Arizona #3 in total defense in the Pac-12. This should be a low-scoring affair, as Vegas sees the Utes winning handily and the Wildcats not scoring more than about 18 points. We will be playing the under in this game, it’s already dropped a couple points, so it’s being bet and it might continue to drop. Utah’s defense will suffocate the Wildcats, and we love the huge coaching mismatch here. The Wildcats are no slouch on defense either, and we see a defensive showcase under the Friday Night Lights.
Free Pick: Under 51.5
