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College Football Week 10 Upset Pick: Washington Beats Utah for Fifth Straight Time

Brady Trettenero

by Brady Trettenero in College Football

Updated Apr 2, 2020 · 1:58 PM PDT

Husky Stadium, home of the Washington Huskies
Washington is +3.5 home underdogs vs No. 9 Utah in Week 10. Can the Huskies pull off the upset? Photo by Abhattarai7 [CC License].
  • Washington is listed as +3.5 home underdogs vs Utah in Week 10
  • The Huskies have won the last four meetings vs the Utes
  • Can Washington pull off the upset in Week 10?

The Washington vs Utah odds have the home Huskies as 3.5-point underdogs this Saturday (Nov. 2, 4:00 PM ET).

Utah has been the better team so far, but Washington has been in every game they’ve played this season, are coming off a bye week, and have won four straight meetings with the Utes.

With Utah starting QB Tyler Huntley banged up, is there value in betting Washington to upset the Utes in Week 10?

Washington vs Utah Odds

Team Spread Moneyline Total
Utah (#9) -3.5 (-165) -165 O 47.5 (-110)
Washington U +3.5 (+145) +145 U 47.5 (-110)

Odds collected Oct. 30

The Matchup

No. 9 Utah enters this game with a 7-1 record, while Washington is 5-3 on the season. The Utes’ only loss this season came against USC, while the Huskies have fallen to California, Stanford and Oregon.

Utah is coming off a 35-0 shutout of Cal, while the Huskies had a bye week after losing 35-31 to Oregon in Week 9. The bye week is crucial for Washington, as they’re dealing with some key injuries. Top wide receiver Aaron Fuller and running back Sean McGrew are both making progress and could play Saturday.

While the Huskies enter this game with three losses, they came very close to earning victories against California and Oregon. Their 20-19 loss to the Golden Bears was a game with a 2.5-hour severe weather delay; against the Ducks, they led by 10 points late in the third quarter.

Washington Has Dominated Series

History favors the Huskies against the Utes. Washington has won each of the last four meetings, including the 2018 Pac-12 Championship Game. The Utes are  just 1-12 all-time against the Huskies.

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Utah coach Kyle Whittingham doesn’t seem to have an answer for Washington coach Chris Peterson, as the Utes are just 1-6 against the Huskies in the Whittingham era, including two losses last year.

Washington also has home-field advantage this time around and beat the Utes 33-30 the last time these two teams faced off in Seattle. After falling just short of beating Oregon in Week 8, Washington is going to be hungry to make a statement in front of their home fans against another ranked team.

Tyler Huntley Banged Up 

Utah starting QB Tyler Huntley has played a major role in his team’s success this season, but he’s battled injuries.  Huntley was twice knocked out of Utah’s Week 8 clash with Arizona State and was listed as questionable for Week 9 against California.

Huntley was able to play most of the first half against the Golden Bears, but he sat out the second half. The Utah QB will play Saturday, but he almost certainly won’t be at 100 percent.

Washington has a very strong QB in Jacob Eason, who ranks fifth in the conference with 16 TD passes and owns a 158.9 pass efficiency rating, just shy of Huntley’s conference-leading 181.1 rating .

Washington’s young receivers are also starting to emerge with freshman Puka Nacua making six catches in his last two games and sophomore Tyrell Bynum recording a career-high six catches against Oregon.

Verdict

With Washington having previously suffered a tough loss to a ranked Oregon team, there’s value in betting the Huskies to rebound at home against Utah. The Huskies haven’t lost back-to-back games since 2015 and are 3-0 in their last three contests coming off a bye week.

The Huskies have dominated the Utes historically and will be well-rested this time around. Huskies QB Jacob Eason has been very impressive, while Tyler Huntley is banged up for Utah.

Washington proved against Oregon that their offense is good enough to produce against strong defensive teams.  With the Huskies well-rested, expect another close game in Week 10 — except this time they pull out the victory.

Pick: Washington (+145)

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