Utah vs Washington Odds, Picks, and Predictions: Barnes-Burner On Deck Today

Michael Penix Jr. is the star of this Utah-Washington showdown, but our college football betting picks believe Utes QB Bryson Barnes will give the Huskies' defense a tough time this Saturday.

Douglas Farmer - Betting Analyst at Covers
Douglas Farmer • Betting Analyst
Nov 11, 2023 • 11:57 ET • 4 min read
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This article contains predictions for an old game!

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Can the Utah Utes play spoiler on the road this afternoon? The Washington Huskies have indeed looked vulnerable of late, winning their last five games by a combined 37 points with no margin of victory greater than 10 points and three within a single possession.

But those have still been wins for the Playoff-contending and PAC-12 leading Huskies. Wins are all that matter, and the Huskies are favored in the college football odds once again.

We’ll find the best way for Washington to keep winning in our free college football picks and predictions for Utah vs. Washington on November 11.

Utah vs Washington best odds

Utah vs Washington picks and predictions

Would anyone be surprised if the Stanford-USC back-to-back combination served as a get-right salve for Washington? Those two defenses are paltry, to say the least, and the Huskies thus hung a combined 94 points on them, the No. 1 pass offense in the country by most metrics having a good time.

That could be all it takes for Michael Penix Jr. and his receivers. Even against Utah’s defense, which ranks No. 2 in expected points added per dropback against, Penix should break through. He is the Heisman odds favorite for a reason, even after this month of relative struggles.

If the Utes are going to make things tense for Penix and the Huskies, they will need to do some heavy-lifting with their own offense. And amid all of Utah’s well-documented injuries this season, it has been left with a run-dependent offense.

The Utes rank No. 14 in running more often than expected, per cfb-graphs.com, even though their passing game is generally more effective. Running the ball is less risky and it keeps the game tight for the Utah defense to then make the difference.

When that defense can’t make that difference against Washington, enter the Utes’ ground game, one that will have surprise success against the Huskies and a woeful rush defense. Washington allows a rushing success on 45.9% of opposing carries, the kind of reality that will encourage Utah to keep rushing, seemingly shortening the game and remaining competitive.

But the truth will be that each Utah drive that finds success rushing will incur much more wrath from Kalen DeBoer and Penix, looking to impress the College Football Playoff committee as much as anything else. That wrath and the Utes’ decent ground game should propel this Over in what has become the lowest number on the market for this Pac-12 tilt this week.

My best bet: Over 49.5 (-109 at BetRivers)
Picks made at time of writing may not reflect live odds.

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Utah vs Washington same-game parlay

Over 49.5

Washington -5.5 1H

Bryson Barnes anytime TD

Washington has not excelled with halftime adjustments this season, losing three straight second halves in the middle of the season and winning the last three by a total of 20 points. That has not mattered because the Huskies are excellent out of the gates, with DeBoer’s game script putting points on the board.

The Huskies have won five of their six Pac-12 first halves, losing only to Arizona State. Including that 3-7 margin, Washington has won the first half by 9.8 points per game in conference play. That will be more than enough to cover this mid-game spread.

But Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes should find the end zone eventually. He has taken three carries in for touchdowns this season, hardly that inspiring, yet he is rushing more and more, taking 34 carries in the last four weeks.

The Huskies have given up 13 rushing touchdowns this season. Look for Barnes to add another.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

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Utah vs Washington spread and Over/Under analysis

The number to note here is entirely the total. While the spread opened with Washington favored at -9 and never spent time in double digits this week — the line move from -9.5 to -8.5 hardly sparking any key-number thoughts — the total opened at 57.5 and plummeted to 54.5 by the end of Sunday.

Wednesday saw the next big drop, cratering to 50.5 or 51.5, depending on your book, and then came Thursday’s 49.5.

Part of the Over thought here is simply catching the best number. If this dips all the way to 49, then bet the Over again with the value of a key number in your pocket.

Utah vs Washington betting trend to know

Betting that first-half Washington number makes more sense when realizing Utah is 3-1 against the spread in its last three games and 4-2 overall in Pac-12 play this season. Meanwhile, Washington lost four straight games ATS from Sept. 30 to Oct. 28, including wins over Oregon and at Arizona. Find more college football betting trends for Utah vs Washington.

Utah vs Washington game info

Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
Date: Saturday, November 11, 2023
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: FOX

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Douglas Farmer
Betting Analyst

Douglas Farmer spends his days thinking about college football and his nights thinking about the NBA. His betting habits and coverage follow that same pattern. He covered Notre Dame football for various outlets from 2008 to 2024, most notably spending eight seasons as NBC Sports’ beat writer on the Irish. That was also when his gambling focus took off. Knowing there were veteran beat writers with three decades more experience than he had, Douglas found his niche by best recognizing Notre Dame’s standing in each year’s national landscape, a complex tapestry most easily understood and remembered via betting odds.

In 2021, that interest created a freelance opportunity with Covers, a role that eventually led to Douglas joining the company full-time in 2023. In the fall, Douglas will place five or six dozen bets each week, a disproportionate amount via BetRivers because the operator tends to have lines slightly different than the rest of the market. The same can be said of Circa Sports’ futures markets.

While Douglas is an avid NBA fan and covers the league throughout the year, the vast majority of his bets are on college football, because that is the biggest key to sports betting: Know what you do not know.

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