Arizona Wildcats vs. Utah Utes: Betting Odds, Analysis, College Football Pick

Two Pac-12 teams from the South Division battling for postseason position will meet in Salt Lake City Saturday when the Utah Utes host the Arizona Wildcats. Both Utah and Arizona are already bowl-eligible and coming off wins last week. The Wildcats will be looking for their third straight victory overall and have gone 5-2 against the spread (ATS) in the last seven meetings with the Utes.

Point spread: The Utes opened as 3.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (Line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 30.2-27.4 Wildcats

Why the Arizona Wildcats can cover the spread

Outside of a 17-7 loss November 1 at UCLA, Arizona has won all of its other road games, going 3-0 with a 2-1 mark ATS. The biggest road win for the Wildcats came October 2 at Oregon, as they handed the Ducks their only loss of the season so far 31-24 as 21.5-point underdogs. They also pounded Washington State 59-37 on the road as two-point favorites before losing to the Bruins, which remains their lone setback since losing 28-26 at home October 11 to USC.

Arizona has won the last two meetings with Utah by double digits, including a 34-24 victory at Rice-Eccles Stadium two years ago in a similar spot as a three-point road underdog.

Why the Utah Utes can cover the spread

The Utes suffered a 51-27 home loss to Oregon in their last home game two weeks ago as 9.5-point home underdogs, but they bounced back in a big way last Saturday at Stanford with a 20-17 overtime victory as 10-point road dogs.

The win against the Cardinal showed again how much character and heart this Utes team has, as they were able to score more touchdowns in the OT periods (two) than they did in regulation in a game that went to the first extra session tied at 7-7. Utah is 5-1 ATS in its last six games and 8-2 vs. the line overall this season.

Smart Pick

The Wildcats and the Utes each have an outside shot at winning the Pac-12 South depending on what happens in Saturday’s USC-UCLA game. A win by the Trojans would give them the division title, but a victory by the Bruins keeps both of them in play for a chance to face the Ducks again in the conference title game.

Utah has beaten both California schools and would love nothing more than to top the Wildcats in its last home game of the season before hitting the road for a matchup with Colorado to end the regular season.

The Utes will treat this as their biggest game of the season while Arizona still has a meeting with intrastate rival Arizona State on deck. Look for the home team to come through in this spot and state its case as the best team in the South.

Betting Trends

• Arizona is 5-2 straight up in its last seven games on the road.
• The total has gone under in five of Utah's last seven games when playing Arizona.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark; all quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates, and get the free odds tracker app.