Probably the key Big 12 battle of the week features the Utah Utes at the Arizona Wildcats. Utah sits alone atop the conference standings after downing BYU last week, and they are in a great position for the postseason. Arizona, though, is right there in the picture too. They are 4-2 in the conference, and if they win out, they have a shot to play for the conference title. I get that this is a classic “trap” spot for Utah—they are coming off a huge emotional win against their key rival, now they head on the road to face a dangerous team, and they can even afford a loss, if it happens. Despite all that, I am taking the Utes anyway at -2.5.
Make no mistake—Arizona is a good football team. They have a veteran quarterback with a ton of heart, and they have beaten everyone except BYU and Texas Tech. But that’s the thing, they just haven’t quite gotten over the hump against the top teams in this conference. But the Wildcats do have a path, and that path is the deep ball. Utah showed some real vulnerability to the deep ball last week, but the Utah offensive attack is just going to be too much for a defense that is okay but not great. And having sustained success against this Ute defense is a tall order. The trap spot is all that prevents me from hammering this one, and I want to grab it before the line crosses over the three-point mark, if I can.
Utah vs Arizona prediction: Utah -2.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -5.5.
