Colorado vs. Utah Spread Prediction
The Colorado Buffaloes are amid a major freefall and are catching a touchdown again at home versus another Pac-12 rival. After failing to cover the spread a week ago in Boulder versus Washington State, will the Buffs circle the wagons Saturday against the Utah Utes at 1:30 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
363 Utah Utes at 364 Colorado Buffaloes
1:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, November 17, 2018
Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Utes are 7-point favorites to beat the Buffaloes. The total, meanwhile, sits at 46 points. As of this writing, 67% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Utes.
Utah Utes
Utah freshman QB Jason Shelley completed 18-of-31 passes for 262 yards and ran for 22 yards with two touchdowns in a 32-25 victory over Oregon. Shelley is the starter with Tyler Huntley out for the season with a broken collarbone, and while it was far from a perfect effort, it was a vast improvement over what we saw from the freshman quarterback against Arizona State the previous week. He showed some ability to make plays with the legs, and there was just enough accuracy to keep the Oregon defense honest. Shelley is going to have his share of downs, but this was an up. Another up could come next Saturday against Colorado.
Colorado Buffaloes
Colorado AD Rick George said that no decision has been made as of yet regarding the future of HC Mike MacIntyre. A report from an ABC affiliate in Denver surfaced on Monday which had MacIntyre facing the axe at the end of the season. At least for now, George is not publicly committing to the coach’s termination. Said the AD, “We do comment on speculation or unsubstantiated rumors with anonymous sources. Let me just say I have made no decisions regarding the future of our football program.” MacIntyre would be owed a buyout of $10-plus million if he is fired without cause. The Buffs are currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak, with one of those losses coming in spectacularly implosive fashion against Oregon State after CU had worked out to a 31-3 lead. Colorado will finish out the campaign with contests against Utah and Cal. Stay tuned.
Betting Trends
Utah
The Utes are 7-2 against the spread in their last nine games after accumulating more than 450 total yards in their previous game.
Colorado
The Buffaloes are 15-36 at the betting window in their last 51 games after allowing more than 280 yards passing in their previous game.
Prediction
The home team has won the last three games in this series and I do see some value in the home dog here. That said, I found value with Colorado a week ago and after a competitive first quarter the Buffs fell apart. They build up an impressive record to start the season but all they did was get fat and happy against sub-standard opponents. Now that they’ve been in the meat of their conference schedule, the Buffs have fallen apart. I can’t back Colorado here. The Utes are 5-1 against the spread in their last six conference games, are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 road games and covered five of their last six games overall.
College Football Prediction: Utah Utes -7