Utah (0-0) vs Southern Utah (0-0)
Game Info: Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 9:00 pm (Rice-Eccles Stadium)
Betting Odds: Utah -38 / Southern Utah +38 --- Over/Under: 52.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Southern Utah Thunderbirds and the Utah Utes meet in week 1 college football action from Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday night. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Southern Utah vs. Utah prediction.
Southern Utah Team Preview
The Southern Utah Thunderbirds come into the 2024 season looking to build on a decent 2023 season, finishing the year 6-5 overall including 4-2 in WAC play. The Thunderbirds have some retooling to do, with the conference’s top passer and receiver gone, but Braedon Wissler’s back after leading Southern Utah with 686 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per carry last season along with 5 rushing TDs and Targhee Lambson will back Wissler up while Zach Mitchell’s back after finishing second on the team in receiving. All-conference duo Rylen Sua-Filo and Kohner Cullimore are back in Southern Utah’s front seven, with Cullimore being the Thunderbirds’ top returning tackler after logging 73 total tackles and 10 tackles for a loss last season.
Why the Southern Utah Thunderbirds will win
- Utah has lost three of its last four games.
- Utah has failed to cover the spread in four of its last five games against non-conference opponents.
Utah Team Preview
The Utah Utes will look to begin their Big 12 tenure on a high note, coming into the 2024 season fresh off of a tumultuous 8-5 mark in 2023 with a 5-4 mark in Pac-12 conference play. The Utes would get an invite to the Las Vegas Bowl, where they would fall to Northwestern by a final score of 14-7. The QB situation in Salt Lake City finally looks solidified now that Cam Rising is finally cleared to take over starting QB duties again after playing the will he or won’t he game for the entire season pretty much all of last season. Micah Bernard’s back after also being out for more of the year and Jaylon Glover provides a nice 1-2 punch in Utah’s backfield.
The Utes do lose top receiver Devaughn Vele, but Money Parks returns as does TE Brant Kuithe from injury and Dorian Singer transfers in from USC to bolster Utah’s receiving group. On defense, Junior Tafuna is back to lead the pass rush up front for Utah while Keanu Tanuvasa and Van Fillinger fill the voids on the line and add a lot of size up front. Karene Reid is back after finishing 2nd on the Utes with 67 tackles from the linebackers spot and Sione Fotu is expected to see an increase in workload in 2024.
Why the Utah Utes will win
- Utah has won each of its last 28 games against non-AP-ranked teams at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
- Utah has covered the spread in each of its last six August games against non-AP-ranked teams.
Southern Utah vs. Utah Prediction
I’m on Utah here. Rice-Eccles is a hard enough place to play for some of the best teams in the country to play at, so why would we expect anything other than a Utah blowout here? The Utes are a better team than what they were last year with Rising back and Brant Kuithe in the fold again, and this is a Southern Utah team that has to rebuild a lot of key pieces in that depth chart. I’m sure Southern Utah would like to make amends for the 66-point loss to Utah two years ago, but these are two teams in two completely different worlds. Give me Utah in a rout.
Chris’s Pick Utah -38
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Mitch's Take...
