The Washington State Cougars and Utah Utes clash Thursday in week 9 PAC-12 college football action from Martin Stadium. Utah is coming off an open week, last appearing in a one-point win over USC. As for Washington State, they last played back on October 15 in a loss to Oregon State.
Utah opened up their year with a loss to Florida, but quickly hit a win streak afterwards. The Utes took out Southern Utah, San Diego State, Arizona State and Oregon State before falling 42-32 to UCLA to break the streak.
Utah was able to get back in the win column during their last game against USC. The Utes outscored the Trojans 15-7 in the fourth quarter during a thrilling 43-42 win. QB Cameron Rising put up 415 yards with two TDs, and also led the rush with 60 yards and three scores.
Over on the Washington State side, they opened up the year with a series of wins. The Cougars took out Idaho, Wisconsin and Colorado State before falling to Oregon. After a win over California, Washington State fell again 30-14 to USC.
In their latest matchup against Oregon State, Washington State gave up points in every quarter along the way to a 24-10 loss. Quarterback Cameron Ward posted 345 yards with one TD and a pick, while Jaylen Jenkins rushed six times for 42 yards.
The Utes are 5-1 ATS in their last six after an ATS los and 4-1 ATS in their last five Thursday games. Utah is 11-3 in their last 14 in October.
Meanwhile, Washington State is 7-1 ATS in their last eight at home and 8-3 ATS in their last 12 conference games. The Cougars are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 overall.
PICK: I might take a stab on Utah. The Utes are coming off a great win, posting 562 yards of offense, 30 first downs and 7.4 yards per play in the win over USC. Utah has been cooking on offense this year, posting 26 or more points in each game. The Utes have hit 32 or more in each of their last six outings and shouldn’t have a ton of trouble posting a good number here.
As for Washington State, they had 368 yards (23 rush yards) total in their loss to Oregon State. The Cougars have scored just 24 combined points over their last two weeks, which comes after a string of three games with 28 points or more. I like Washington State to post a decent total here as well, but not cover.