The Utah Utes didn’t play well on the road last season. The Michigan Wolverines aren’t playing well this season. Something has to give in a matchup of two very uncertain teams.
Utah Utes @ Michigan Wolverines
Saturday, September 20th – 3:30 PM ET
Odds: Michigan -5.5
Why The Utes Will Cover
They are playing much better football than Michigan right now. Utah surprised some people when it killed Fresno State, 59-27, a week and a half ago. The Utes’ offense had not been so productive at any point in 2013. The team’s switch to a new offensive coordinator, former Wyoming head coach Dave Christensen, has seemingly given this team and especially the offense a new start. Quarterback Travis Wilson was highly effective in the win over Fresno State, helping Utah to score at least 14 points in all four quarters. The Utes found a very balanced offense against the Bulldogs, throwing for 268 yards and rushing for 258. Utah was able to score 59 points even though it committed 12 penalties for 118 yards. When you subtract the team’s 118 penalty yards from its 526 total yards, the net is still over 400. Yet, just imagine how good this team can be if it can cut down on the penalties. Small improvements could lead to a win over Michigan.
Utah is playing better than Michigan because Utah is in good form, but also because Michigan is not playing well at all. The Wolverines led woeful Miami University by only seven points at halftime of last weekend’s game. Michigan should have beaten Miami by upwards of 38 points if everything was working well. Instead, Michigan needed more than three full quarters to feel safe against a very bad team at home.
Why The Wolverines Will Cover
They might not be playing great, but they are facing a team that just didn’t play well on the road last season. Utah went 1-4 on the road a year ago, and the Utes were 0-4 in the Pac-12 away from home. Utah’s one road win came in a home-state rivalry game against BYU, when the team didn’t have to travel and was able to be especially motivated. Any true trip outside the state of Utah was problematic for the Utes, who were tough in Salt Lake City but became a very different, and much worse, team in an unfamiliar environment. Since Utah has not yet played a road game this season, there’s no way to judge how Utah will play in this game. However, the important point is that Utah has not yet proven itself in a tough road environment. Michigan didn’t have to be great against Miami University last week. The team was coming off a hangover from the shutout loss it suffered against Notre Dame. This is a game in which you should see a stronger and more focused performance from the Wolverines, who know they have to get better but will probably play with more effort, especially since they know Utah is dangerous.
Outlook
If Utah can maintain even some, not all, of the consistency it found on offense against Fresno State, the Utes are just a better team than the Wolverines right now. Michigan is drifting, and that’s no way to face an opponent that is functioning much better on offense with a new coordinator. Utah will win this game outright.
Pick: Utah +5.5
