Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Utah Utes Betting Odds, Analysis, Football Pick

Arizona State is 4-0 against Utah since the latter joined the Pac-12 four seasons ago, but the last two meetings have been close, with the Utes covering as underdogs. But enough of that—Utah looks to snap that streak and stay undefeated when it hosts the Sun Devils Saturday night in Salt Lake City.

Point spread: The Utes opened as 6.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (line updates and matchup report).

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 21.7-21.1 Utes

Why the Arizona State Sun Devils can cover the spread

ASU laid an egg a few weeks ago against USC but has won two straight since, including a 48-23 victory over Colorado last week. The Sun Devils led 14-0 seven minutes into the game and pushed that to 38-10 midway through the third quarter on their way to the cover as 16-point favorites. Arizona State outrushed the Buffaloes 231-49, while quarterback Mike Bercovici threw five touchdown passes, which gives him 14 on the season.

Two weeks ago the Sun Devils bounced back from that bad loss to the Trojans by beating UCLA at the Rose Bowl 38-23. ASU outgained the Bruins by more than 100 yards and basically dominated, winning outright as a 12-point road dog.

If the Sun Devils can come up with another performance like the last two, they might not need the points to cover.

Why the Utah Utes can cover the spread

Utah is off to a 5-0 start, after holding off Cal last week 30-24. The Utes took a 10-7 lead late in the first quarter and never trailed after that, eventually piling up 265 yards rushing. Running back Devontae Booker had 222 of those yards, while the defense picked off Heisman candidate quarterback Jared Goff five times.

Utah led by double digits twice but in the end came up one point short of pushing the spread as a seven-point favorite.

The Utes opened this season with a 24-17 victory over Michigan, which looks even better now after what the Wolverines have done recently. Utah also exposed Oregon as the pretender it is at the moment with that 62-20 blowout in Eugene three weeks ago.

Four years ago the Utes lost the matchup with Arizona State by three touchdowns; three years ago they lost by four touchdowns. Two years ago, though, Utah led by two scores in the second half before succumbing 20-19. And last year's game went to overtime before the Utes fell 19-16. Natural progression indicates Utah snaps this four-game slide Saturday night.

Smart pick

The Utes are suddenly a chic pick to click, climbing up the rankings and even into the national championship conversation. But head coach Kyle Whittingham might be wise to ban his players from reading media, because the hype can only hurt. Arizona State, meanwhile, sees this game as a chance to take the lead in the Pac-12 South. The smart choice here is the Sun Devils.

Betting trends

Arizona State is 4-0 straight up in its last four games against Utah.

Arizona State is 8-0 straight up and against the spread in its last eight games in October.

Utah is 1-5 against the spread in its last six conference games at home.

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.