Arizona at Utah final odds moving in Wildcats favor and predictions

After being an 11.5-point underdog earlier this week, the spread for the Wildcats' game at Utah on Saturday night is now 9.5. The line had moved to Utah favored by 8.5 on Friday. Arizona is 0-3 versus the point spread this season. Arizona failed to cover as a favorite versus Northern Arizona and New Mexico and as an underdog at Kansas State.

The moneyline is currently plus 270 for Arizona and minus 345 for Utah. The over/under is 47.5 The over is minus 115 and the under is minus 105. Arizona was plus 340 and Utah minus 450 on the moneyline earlier this week. The over/under with 48.5 earlier this week.

Utah is 2-2 versus the spread this season. The Utes won 49-0 as a 37.5 point favorite over Southern Utah in their season opener. Utah won 23-12 as a 15-point favorite over Baylor in week two and 38-21 over Utah State as a 19.5-point favorite. The Utes beat Oklahoma State 22-19 last week in a pick 'em game.

Only one of the four Utah games has gone over this season. Utah's game versus Utah State went well over the 43.5 points over/under that was by far the lowest in a Utes game this season. The only Arizona game that exceeded the over this season was the season opening 61-39 win over New Mexico.

Utah returns home on Saturday after playing at Utah State and Oklahoma State the last two weeks. Arizona has not played at home since a 22-10 win over Northern Arizona on September 7. Arizona lost 31-7 in its last game on September 13 at Kansas State.

The game versus Utah is the first official Big XII conference game for Arizona. Arizona at Kansas State, like Baylor at Utah, were non-conference games. Those games were scheduled before Big XII expansion. Because of the difficulty of finding a non-conference so late, they were kept as non-conference games.

Prediction

Earlier this week Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus projected Arizona to cover versus Utah. Arizona should be able to keep it close, but at 9.5 it seems like Utah should barely cover that with a 10-point win. Arizona has been far too inconsistent this season to expect them to keep it within a touchdown.

The 47.5 point over/under seems high. Utah should be able to run versus Arizona and control the clock to keep the score down. If Arizona is going to have any chance to win they will need big plays from Noah Fifita to Tetairoa McMillan in the passing game.