Utah Utes vs. Stanford Cardinal Odds, Analysis, College Football Betting Pick

Utah won the first two meetings with Stanford after becoming a Pac-12 rival, twice winning outright as an underdog on the college football betting lines. But the Cardinal outlasted the Utes last year in Salt Lake City. Who's the smart bet for this Pac-12 battle on Saturday night out on the Farm?

College football point spread: The Cardinal opened as five-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College football betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 31.3-23.7 Utes (College football picks on every game)

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Why the Utah Utes can cover the spread

The Utes opened 2-0 this season but are now shooting to halt a two-game losing skid following a tough 28-24 loss at Washington State last week.

Utah actually drove its first two possessions of the game 75 and 65 yards to touchdowns, took a 21-21 tie into halftime and drove the opening possession of the second half to a field goal and a 24-21 lead. But the Utes gave up an 89-yard catch-and-run touchdown with just over four minutes to go to fall behind, reached the Cougars' 36-yard line on a last-gasp drive but came up empty on a fourth down.

On the day, in an attempt to keep Washington State's Air Raid attack sidelined, Utah ran the ball 50 times for 204 yards. And it worked most of the day; the Utes just came up one big play short of victory.

Utah fell as a two-point road favorite last week. However, the Utes are 10-2 against the spread their last 12 times out as underdogs on the road.

Why the Stanford Cardinal can cover the spread

The Cardinal started 4-0 this year, but this week they try to rebound from a 38-17 loss at Notre Dame on Saturday. Stanford battled the Irish to a 14-14 tie late into the second quarter and only trailed 24-17 well into the fourth. But the Cardinal gave up two touchdowns in a 14-second span and had no response.

On the evening Stanford got beat on the field and on the stat sheet, and yet the team was still right in the game in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinal are already 2-0 both straight up and ATS in Pac-12 play this season. A month ago, they beat USC 17-3, covering as four-point favorites, and two weeks ago they staged that wild comeback and won at Oregon 38-31 in overtime, covering as three-point favorites.

Smart betting pick

Stanford needed a minor miracle to beat the Ducks a couple of weeks ago and got outplayed last week at Notre Dame. Also, running back Bryce Love is apparently nowhere near 100 percent healthy. Utah, meanwhile, came about two plays from winning last week. Finally, the last three meetings in this series have been decided by a total of 12 points. Smart money here takes the points with the Utes.

College football betting trends

Utah is 3-1 SU and 3-0-1 ATS in its last four games vs. Stanford.

The total has gone under in Utah's last four games vs. Stanford.

Utah is 12-1 ATS in its last 13 games on the road vs. teams with winning records.

All college football odds and betting trends according to Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. Check out OddsShark on Twitter and Instagram or head to YouTube for more betting picks and analysis on this week's top games. You can also download the free odds tracker app.