The Utah Utes will have to settle for the Valero Alamo Bowl after missing the chance to play in the College Football Playoff, but they can still get much prestige and pride from this game, as they will be up against a big-time program in the Texas Longhorns. Will the Utes end the season on a winning note? Or will Texas head coach get to 4-0 straight-up in his career in bowl games?
Betting on the Utah Utes (11-2 Overall/8-1 Conference)
The Utes had an outside shot of getting a slot in the College Football Playoff, but completely missed on that with a 37-15 loss to the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Despite what the Ducks did on offense in that game, the Utes’ defense remains a force to reckon with. Utah is ranked sixth in the nation with 14.3 points allowed per game and third overall with just 268.1 total yards surrendered per contest. This team can effectively take away opposing rushing attacks. After all, the Utes are tops in the nation with a rushing defense that allows just 23.3 rushing yards per game and just 2.8 rushing yards per carry. If The Longhorns turn to their passing attack more in the Valero Alamo Bowl, it will have to do at the risk of testing the Utes’ pass rush that has 30 sacks on the season. While that’s not among the best int he nation, Texas’ pass protection is among the worst in the Big 12 with 33.0 sacks allowed.
The Utes are 8-2 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 games.
Betting on the Texas Longhorns (7-5 Overall/5-4 Conference)
The Longhorns can learn a lot from watching how the Ducks dominated Utah’s stout defense. The Ducks used a mixture of approaches on offense to break down the Utes’ stop unit. Running back CJ Verdell had 208 of Oregon’s 239 rushing yards and also had all of his team’s three rushing scores. It helped Oregon that it had one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Justin Herbert to open things up for the Ducks on the ground. The Longhorns also have a talented signal-caller in Sam Ehlinger, who is the leader of the 19th-best passing attack in the FBS. The Longhorns are averaging 296.2 passing yards per game and are 16th in scoring offense with 35.0 points per contest.
The Longhorns are 2-1 ATS in their last three games.
