There’s a four-way tie atop the standings of the Pac-12 South division, and two of them, the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Utah Utes (+10,000 to win the 2020 College Football Championship) will be on a collision course this coming weekend in Salt Lake City. Read on for a preview of this matchup below.
Betting on the Arizona State Sun Devils (5-1 Overall / 2-1 Conference)
The Sun Devils moved further away from a 34-31 letdown loss to the Colorado Buffaloes last month. Since then, Arizona State defeated No. 15 California Golden Bears, 24-17, on the road before taking down the Washington State Cougars at home, 38-34. Quarterback Jayden Daniels had a big night in the Golden Bears game, passing for 363 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions on 26-of-36 completions, while running back Eno Benjamin broke out for 137 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Benjamin isn’t going to find plenty of spaces to run against Utah’s defense, but Daniels and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk hold the key in softening and loosening up the Utes’ stop unit. Aiyuk is second in the Pac-12 with an average of 108.5 receiving yards per game to go with five touchdowns. The Utes are just 82nd in the nation with over 246 passing yards allowed per contest.
The Sun Devils are 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last four games.
Betting on the Utah Utes (5-1 Overall / 2-1 Conference)
The Utes are humming once again. After getting tripped up by the USC Trojans in a 30-23 road loss last September, the Utes have gone on to win their next two games, including last Saturday’s 52-7 cakewalk of a victory in Corvallis over the Oregon State Beavers. The Utes leaned on the legs of running back Zack Moss, who burned rubber for 121 rushing yards and two touchdowns on just five carries. Moss now has 14 games with at least 100 rushing yards, tied for most in the Utes’ program history. Meanwhile, quarterback Tyler Huntley moved the chains effectively with his arms, passing for 247 yards and a couple of touchdowns on 14-of-27 completions. Huntley has yet to get picked this season. Huntley could emerge unscathed again from he upcoming matchup against the Sun Devils, whose secondary doesn’t offer much. In fact, the Sun Devils, who allowed 466 passing yards to Cougars QB Anthony Gordon last week, only have two interceptions — the fewest in the Pac-12, thus far this season.
