Utah vs Washington State Odds, Spread and Picks

• No. 14 Utah is an 8.5-point favorite over Washington State on Thursday, October 27
• Washington State is 7-1 SU in its last eight home games
• Read below for Utah vs Washington State odds, spread and betting prediction

No. 14 Utah (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12) is an 8.5-point road favorite against Washington State in a Pac-12 game Thursday at 10 pm ET on FS1.  The Utes are one of three one-loss teams in  the Pac-12  South, along with ranked teams No. 10 USC and No. 12 UCLA.

Washington State (4-3, 1-3) has lost two in a row and three of its last four after a 3-0 start, including losses to No. 8 Oregon and USC. The Cougars play only one team with a winning league record after this game.

Utah vs Washington State Odds

Odds from Barstool Sportsbook on Oct 24. Claim the Barstool Sportsbook promo code today. 

Utah opened as a 7-point road favorite but quickly was bet up to 8.5 for the game at Washington State, which has lost each of the last three games in the series. The Utes are 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS in the last three, all in Utah. The 2020 game was played in Salt Lake City after the COVID-19 outbreak forced schedules to be juggled.

The Cougars had a four-game win-and-cover streak from 2013-18 in a series that is not played every year because the teams are in separate divisions. The Utes won 24-13 last season, failing to cover the 15-point spread in quarterback Cameron Rising’s second start of the season following the Utes’ 1-2 start.

Utah (and QB Cameron) Rising

With Cam Rising operating at peak efficiency, the Utes beat USC the last time out 43-42 in what was as close to a must-win game as a mid-October game can be. A loss would have dropped defending Pac-12 South champ Utah two games behind the Trojans.

#Pac12FB Offensive Player and of the Week, presented by @Nextiva: Cameron Rising 🙌

Full release ➡️ https://t.co/IcknW2NiuF#GoUtes | @Utah_Football pic.twitter.com/8Ehghd05ek

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) October 17, 2022

Rising passed for 415 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 60 yards and three touchdowns and capped it off with a game-winning two-point conversion run with 48 seconds remaining to beat the Trojans. He has completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 1,855 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Behind Rising, Utah is averaging 473 yards and 40.7 points a game against a slate that has included Florida, UCLA and USC.

Wazzu Headed in Wrong Direction

The Cougars have lost two in a row and three of their last four, struggling to find consistent offense since a strong early start in which they won three in a row and had No. 8 Oregon beaten until a fourth-quarter collapse in a 44-41 loss Sept. 24.

Passing Yards thru Week 8

2,934—Michael Penix, Washington
2,274—Jayden de Laura, Arizona
2,101—Jaren Hall, BYU
1,971—Caleb Williams, USC
1,962—Cameron Ward, WSU
1,857—Tanner McKee, Stanford
1,855—Cameron Rising, Utah
1,809—Bo Nix, Oregon

*Penix No. 1 nationally; de Laura No. 9

— SuperWest Sports (@SuperWestSports) October 23, 2022

Cam Ward has thrown for 1,962 yards and 16 touchdowns in the Cougars’ spread attack, but his eight interceptions are the most among Pac-12 starting quarterbacks. He was 25-of-54 for 345 yards with one touchdown and one interception the last time out, a 24-10 loss at Oregon State on Oct. 15.

Washington State gave up 203 yards rushing to Oregon State and gave up 181 and 178 in their other two losses. The one-dimensional Cougars average 89 yards rushing per game, 125th among the 131 NCAA Division I teams. Leading rusher Nakia Watson (473 yards from scrimmage) did not play against at Oregon State with lower body injury and is questionable this week.

Byes Bring Contrasting Results

The Utes, who have not played since a 43-42 victory over USC on Oct. 15, have had no problem dealing with longer layoffs in the recent past. They are 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS following a bye since 2014 and are 5-0 SU and ATS on the road in those spots.

My CFB Top 10 (10/22)
1) @OhioStateFB
2) @Vol_Football
3) @GeorgiaFootball
4) @UMichFootball
5) @AlabamaFTBL
6) @ClemsonFB
7) @TCUFootball
8) @oregonfootball
9) @CowboyFB
10) @Utah_Football

Almost: @uscfb @PennStateFball @OleMissFB @UCLAFootball

— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) October 23, 2022

Utah beat USC 42-26 as a 3-point underdog in the Coliseum in their one such game in 2021. The Utes covered the 14.5-point number in a 52-7 victory at Oregon State in 2019 and since 2003 are 16-4 SU and 15-5 ATS following a week off.

Washington State is 0-5 SU and ATS in its five games after a bye since 2019, all as an underdog and the last four as an underdog of 8.5 points or more.

Utah vs Washington State Prediction

Utah is the better team here as they look to take another step toward a crucial meeting at No. 8 Oregon on Nov. 19. Utah’s two losses have come on the road at Florida and at No. 12 UCLA, and Washington State is not in that class. The bye-week trends are startlingly favorable to the Utes.

• Pick: Utah -8.5 (-110)