The Utah Utes made the most out of their opportunities last season. After losing a disappointing season opener to Florida, Utah would end up earning a spot in the Pac-12 title game and spoiling USC’s hopes of a national championship. For this season, there is a big question about the future of quarterback Cam Rising.
Rising tore his ACL in the Rose Bowl last season and is supposedly going to be ready for the start of the season. Such a quick recovery from such an injury is a difficult task. Here’s a look at what to expect from the Utes.
Let’s see if the Utah Utes have what it takes to back the betting lines to win the National Championship.
Utah Utes 2023 Season Betting Guide | MyBookie College Betting Preview
Utah Utes | Pac-12 Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season
School: Texas Christian University
Head coach: Kyle Whittingham | 19th season
Home field: Rice–Eccles Stadium | 51,444
Utah Odds to Win Championship: +11000
Middling Expectations
Questions at quarterback have people not as high on the Utes this season. Utah has an over/under total that is set at 8.5 games, with the over bet being priced at plus. The Utes, who are the defending Pac-12 champions, are priced at +550 to win the conference.
Only USC (+170), Oregon (+300), and Washington (+400) have better odds.
Utah Will Be Ready to Rumble
The Utes aren’t one of the teams choosing to start out playing FCS or Group of Five opponents. Instead, Utah will host Florida and travel to Baylor to start the season. Both the Gators and Bears struggled last season, but both have the potential to pose a difficult challenge for Utah.
Last season, the Utes lost a narrow three-point decision in Gainesville.
Pac-12 Play Won’t Be a Picnic
Utah will be tested early and often once conference play starts. UCLA was a strong team last season and will come into Salt Lake on Sept. 23.Three of the Utes next four games will feature Oregon State, which was much improved last season, a trip to USC, which will return its Heisman-Trophy winning quarterback from last season and a visit from Oregon on Oct. 28.
How Utah handles this stretch of the season will go a long way toward determining where the Utes will ultimately finish in the standings.
What if Rising Can’t Play?
Utah has been working on getting freshman quarterback Brandon Rose ready to play. Rose, a 6-foot-2 freshman out of Temecula, Calif., was the Utes’ top recruit at quarterback in the offseason. Starting a freshman will bring challenges with it that could make Utah’s start to the season slow if Rising can’t return right away.
Utah Season Prediction
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham has turned the Utes into one of the more consistent programs in the conference. While Utah first struggled in its first three seasons in the Pac-12, the Utes have been contenders ever since and are now the two-time defending conference champions. Excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, the Utes have won nine or more games in the last four full seasons they play.
Utah won’t get far above the 8.5-win total this year. But the Utes will find a way to eke out just enough wins in conference play to top the number.
Bet Utah Utes to Win Championship
MyBookie Betting Lines for the Championship
2023 Utah Football Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Venue | Time |
---|---|---|---|---|
All times ET | ||||
1 | Sep. 2 | Florida Gators | Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT | 8:00 pm ET |
2 | Sep. 9 | at Baylor Bears | McLane Stadium, Waco, TX | 12:00 pm ET |
3 | Sep. 16 | Weber State Wildcats | Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT | 2:00 pm ET |
4 | Sep. 23 | UCLA Bruins (HC) | Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT | TV TBA |
5 | Sep. 30 | at 17 Oregon State Beavers | Reser Stadium, Corvallis, OR | 9:00 pm ET |
6 | Oct. 7 | OFF | ||
7 | Oct. 14 | California Golden Bears | Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT | TV TBA |
8 | Oct. 21 | at 4 USC Trojans | LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA | TV TBA |
9 | Oct. 28 | 15 Oregon Ducks | Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT | TV TBA |
10 | Nov. 2 | Arizona State Sun Devils | Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT | TV TBA |
11 | Nov. 11 | at 12 Washington Huskies | Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA | TV TBA |
12 | Nov. 18 | at Arizona Wildcats | Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ | TV TBA |
13 | Nov. 24 | Colorado Buffaloes | Rice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT | TV TBA |
14 | Dec. 2 | Pac-12 Championship | Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV | 8:00 pm ET |
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