The Washington Huskies thought that they could get back to the College Football Playoff for the second straight season. Washington looked to be well on its way after starting the season 6-0, but road games against Arizona State and Stanford tripped this team up and now the best the Huskies can hope for is another PAC 12 Championship. They are in line to grab the PAC 12 North, but must best the Utah Utes this week before a pivotal showdown with in-state rival Washington State next week.
This matchup in Week 12 of the regular season will take place on Saturday, November 18, 2017, at 10:30 p.m. ET at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. This game will be broadcast on ESPN.
College Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Utah +17.5
Washington -17.5
Over/Under 46.5
Odds Analysis
This line is one of the few that has been stable all week. It opened at 17.5 and is still sitting right there four days later.
Utah has been surprisingly good on the road this season. The Utes knocked off both BYU and Arizona as short favorites and then lost by a single point to USC in the LA Coliseum, covering the two touchdown spread. However, they were waxed in their last road trip, falling to Oregon 41-20. Each of their last three games has ended up surging over the total by more than a touchdown.
The Huskies have been perfectly fine at home this season. Washington has defeated every opponent by at least 21 points and is 4-1 ATS in Husky Stadium.
Last Meeting
When these teams met in Utah last season, the Utes gave the Huskies a great game. These two sides were pretty even as now-49er Joe Williams was the first running back all year to have success against this front seven. Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin were solid in their roles too. So this game turned, like it so often in these situations, on special teams.
Dante Pettis only had 13 receiving yards in this game, but came up big when his team needed him too. With the game knotted at 24 all late in the fourth, Pettis took a punt 58 yards to the house for what turned out to be the game-winning score.
Pettis broke the NCAA record for punt return touchdowns in a career against Oregon a few weeks ago and has four already this season. After being burned by him last year, you can bet that the Utes will kick away from him this season.
Matchup to Watch
Utah has had some trouble moving the ball on teams this season. The ground game has not been as good as in season’s past and instead, the Utes have been reliant on moving the ball through the air. Particularly, with Darren Carrington II.
Oregon’s loss was Utah’s gain when it comes to Carrington. Willie Taggart dismissed him from the team in the offseason and the Utes were quick to snatch up the all-conference receiver. He has provided Tyler Huntley with a big play target and has proven to be quite effective all year long.
Carrington is doubling up every other member of the Utes in terms of receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. To call him the go-to guy is an understatement considering how many passes he sees per game and without him the Utes would be in real trouble.
Free ATS Pick
If you haven’t watched these teams play this season, you’d probably think you were getting a good number with Utah here. However, the Huskies have been untouchable at home this season and have the defense to shut down Utah’s ground game and can roll coverage over to shut down Carrington. The Utes will be too focused on Pettis and will subsequently give Washington good field position and the Huskies will use that to their advantage in a rout.
College Football Odds: Washington 41, Utah 17
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