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Major national football analyst picks Arizona over Utah

Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus made a surprising prediction for the Arizona at Utah game on Saturday.

By Alan Rubenstein

Nov 18, 2023; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Utah Utes running back Ja'Quinden Jackson (3) is tackled by Arizona Wildcats defensive lineman Bill Norton (45) and linebacker Jacob Manu (5) during the first half at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-Imagn Images
Nov 18, 2023; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Utah Utes running back Ja'Quinden Jackson (3) is tackled by Arizona Wildcats defensive lineman Bill Norton (45) and linebacker Jacob Manu (5) during the first half at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Zachary BonDurant-Imagn Images / Zachary BonDurant-Imagn Images
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Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus predicts Arizona will upset Utah with a 27-24. Chadwick's colleague, Dalton Wasserman, believes that Arizona will cover the spread but Utah will emerge with a 23-20 win. Chadwick and Wasserman have selected the Arizona at Utah game as one of the five biggest week five games.

Bettors seem to agree with Chadwick and Wasserman. Utah was an 11.5-point favorite earlier this week. As of late Friday afternoon, Utah is favored by 8.5 points per FanDuel. Chadwick and Wasserman wrote an extensive preview of Arizona at Utah.

The "Storyline to know: The status of Cam Rising" was the first key topic mentioned by Chadwick and Wasserman. Rising, the Utah starting QB has been out since week two with a finger injury. True freshman Isaac Wilson played well last week starting for Rising. Wilson led Utah to a 22-19 win at Oklahoma State.

The second storyline mentioned by Chadwick and Wasserman is "Matchup to watch when Arizona has the ball (Dalton): Tetairoa McMillan against the world." They concluded that Arizona needs someone other than McMillan to emerge as an offensive threat to beat Utah.

"Matchup to watch when Utah has the ball (Max): Micah Bernard against Arizona’s run defense." Arizona is 98th nationally allowing 172.67 rushing yards per game this game this season. Arizona allowed 240 of their 518 rushing yards this season to quarterbacks Devon Dampier of New Mexico and Avery Johnson of Kansas State.

Next. Arizona offense faces greatest 2024 challenge versus Utah defense. Arizona offense faces greatest 2024 challenge versus Utah defense. dark

Without Utah having an elite running threat at QB, Arizona can focus on Utes' running back Micah Bernard who is 11th nationally rushing for 114.0 yards per game. Bernard has rushed for over 100 yards in the last three games while averaging 20.3 carries. How well Arizona does stopping Bernard will play a big role in the outcome versus Utah.

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