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No. 15 Arizona and No. 17 Utah clash Saturday
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Published: 11/22/2014  at  5:05:00 AM
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ARIZONA WILDCATS (8-2)
at UTAH UTES (7-3)

Kickoff: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
Line: Utah -4, Total: 54

No. 15 Arizona and No. 17 Utah meet on Saturday for an important game within the wide-open Pac-12 South division.

Here is the BetDSI Sportsbook betting preview for this matchup:

Arizona has put together a great season with an 8-2 SU record highlighted by defeating Oregon 31-24 as 21.5-point underdogs earlier in the year. Unfortunately, they have not done well for bettors with a 3-7 ATS record while failing to cover in each of their past three attempts. Last week, the Wildcats barely earned the win over Washington, as they escaped with a 27-26 victory at home as 8-point favorites. It took a field goal with time expiring for them to secure the win as they were outgained 504-375 while each team turned the ball over three times. Utah has also been solid in the Pac-12 with key victories over UCLA and USC, but was unable to keep the winning ways going as it lost consecutive games to Arizona State and Oregon. The Utes have been very impressive for bettors at 8-2 ATS on the season and were 10-point underdogs when they traveled to Stanford last week as they were able to pull off an upset in overtime with a 20-17 win. The teams combined for just 541 yards of offense in the defensive struggle, but Utah’s efficiency was key as the team completed 21-of-28 passes and did not turn the ball over. Arizona has won each of the past two meetings in this series by an average of 10.5 PPG while covering both games and throwing for 300+ yards each time. Last season the Wildcats hosted the Utes as 3.5-point favorites and prevailed 35-24 while getting 26 first downs and collecting 320 yards through the air. Before placing a wager, bettors should know that Utah is a mere 23-41 ATS (36%) as a favorite of 3.5 to 10 points since 1992 while Arizona is 0-7 ATS after scoring 20+ points in the first half of two consecutive games over the past three seasons. Amazingly neither team has any significant injuries to worry about for this key Pac-12 matchup.

Which team will keep its Pac-12 title hopes alive on Saturday? For the answer, connect to College Football Best Bets for all the StatFox Experts picks throughout the 2014 regular season and bowl season.

Arizona ranks among the naton's top-50 with a potent passing game (306.7 YPG, 14th in FBS) while adding 185.5 YPG from the rushing attack, and posting 35.6 PPG in the process. QB Anu Solomon (3,058 pass yards, 25 TD, 7 INT) has exceeded expectations as a freshman while throwing 3+ TD in five games this year and surpassing 300 yards three times. He put forth a subpar performance in the win over Washington last week though, going 17-for-39 (44%) with 242 yards and 2 INT, while failing to throw a touchdown for the first time this season. HB Nick Wilson (867 rush yards, 9 TD) has hit the century mark rushing the ball five times this year, including the past two games in which he has averaged 128.5 YPG while scoring twice in last week’s victory. There are seven different Arizona players who have more than 20 receptions on this team with WR Cayleb Jones (788 rec yards, 8 TD) leading the way with 58 grabs. He has slowed down after a fast start though, gaining a mere 52.2 YPG over his past six games. The Wildcats defense has allowed opponents to score 26.1 PPG this season behind the efforts of stud LB Scooby Wright III (118 tackles, 12 sacks) and DB Jared Travis (94 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT).

Utah is not like many of its Pac-12 counterparts with an average offense tallying just 189.9 passing YPG and 177.5 rushing YPG, leading to 31.4 PPG. QB Travis Wilson (1,558 pass yards, 13 TD, 2 INT) has six touchdowns and just two picks over his past four contests while looking very impressive in the victory over Stanford last week (21-for-28, 177 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT). He does like to attack the opposition with his legs too, with five games of double-digit carries while gaining 172 yards (2.0 YPC) and scoring two touchdowns overall on the year. HB Devontae Booker (1,113 rush yards, 8 TD) is gaining 5.1 YPC over 218 attempts and had a stretch of five games over the middle of the season where he averaged 162.2 YPG, but has put up a meager 60.4 YPG over the other five contests. He is a big part of the passing game as well with 30 catches for 252 yards (8.4 avg) and two scores, including 17 catches in the past two weeks alone. There is no dominant receiver that comes from this team, while WR Kenneth Scott (351 rec yards, 4 TD) leads the team in receptions (33) and is tied with WR Dres Anderson (355 rec yards, 4 TD) for most touchdown grabs. The performances of LB Jared Norris (90 tackles, 4 sacks), DB Gionni Paul (61 tackles, 4 INT), DL Nate Orchard (73 tackles, 16.5 sacks) and DL Hunter Dimick (50 tackles, 9 sacks) have led the team to giving up 23.8 PPG (43rd in nation) to their opponents.


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