A Pac-12 battle between the Stanford Cardinal and Utah Utes will close another Saturday slate in college football this weekend. With a spread north of three touchdowns, here is our Stanford-Utah prediction, odds and pick.
Be sure to check out our OddsShopper tool for the best odds on this week’s college football slate.
College Football Odds: Stanford-Utah Odds
Kickoff is 10 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN.
Utah (7-2, 5-1) had aspirations of reaching the College Football Playoff entering the season but has fallen short of that goal. Stanford (3-6, 1-6 Pac-12) has lost three in a row.
After opening as a 21.5-point favorite, Utah is now favored by 23.5 points at home via most sportsbooks. The total has had no movement and sits at 54 heading into the weekend.
Per the sportsbook consensus at pregame.com, 83% of spread bets are on Utah, while 79% of the total handle is on the Over. Each team is 5-4 toward the Over against the closing point total this season.
Tanner McKee leads Stanford Offense
The Cardinal are 2-7 against the spread (ATS), including 1-4 as double-digit underdogs. It is important to note that Stanford has not been this big an underdog yet this season and actually won outright as a 16.5-point underdog against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Oct. 15 (16-14).
Stanford has failed to score more than 16 points in four consecutive games. That doesn’t bode well against a Utah defense holding opponents to 21.4 points per game. Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee has thrown for 2,208 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Cameron Rising Could Lift Utah
The Utes started the season with a 29-26 loss to the Florida Gators but have taken care of business ever since. Utah’s other misstep was a 42-32 loss to UCLA as a 3.5-point favorite on Oct. 8.
Since that defeat, Utah has won three in a row and is coming off a 45-20 victory over the Arizona Wildcats. Utes QB Cameron Rising returned last week after missing the previous contest unexpectedly due to injury. Rising finished with just 151 yards and one touchdown but has 2,006 passing yards and 16 touchdowns this season.
Utah is averaging 39.0 points per game, 12th in the nation. The Utes have scored 40-plus points in two of their past three outings and have the firepower to cover a big number Saturday.
Final Stanford-Utah Prediction & Pick
Stanford has not scored more than two touchdowns in either of its past two games, and that streak will continue. The Cardinal have a team total of 14.5 points, and the under is a savvy play as of Friday evening.
This team total has had life in four consecutive games for the Cardinal. They produced 16 points against Notre Dame and 15 against Arizona State to begin October, and combined for 17 points the last two weeks.
Utah rolled to a 52-7 victory over Stanford in last year’s meeting and can expect another dominant performance Saturday.
Final Stanford-Utah Prediction: Stanford Under 14.5 points (-128, FanDuel)
