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Brigham Young at Utah
November 20, 2008
By Brad Young VegasInsider.com
Brad Young continues to connect at a 57-percent clip (37-28) on his college football selections, and has a guaranteed selection concerning the Brigham Young-Utah matchup!
T here will be plenty at stake when Brigham Young and Utah collide in their annual rivalry game. Not only is the Mountain West Conference title up for grabs, but Utah still is in the running for a coveted Bowl Championship Series berth for the second time in school history.
This marks the regular season finale for both schools, with Brigham Young winning 22 of its last 23 conference games. The Cougars have won the last two matchups with the Utes, but stumbled earlier this season when they lost to Texas Christian. A BYU victory could create a three-way tie atop the conference with Utah and TCU.
Utah is enjoying its best season since 2004 when the school went undefeated and won the Fiesta Bowl The Utes are 19-1 their last 20 games overall. A Utah victory doesn’t necessarily guarantee a BCS slot considering Boise State is also unbeaten and in the top-10, while power conferences like the Big XII and SEC figure to get multiple berths.
The Las Vegas Hilton installed Utah as a 7 ½-point home ‘chalk’ over Brigham Young, with the total set at 53 ½. The Utes opened as a 5 ½-point favorite before getting public backing. The Mountain will provide coverage of Saturday’s contest from Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET.
BYU (10-1 straight up, 3-7 against the spread) continued its winning ways by upending Air Force last weekend as a four-point road ‘chalk,’ 38-24. The combined 62 points eclipsed the 51-point closing total, enabling the ‘over’ to cash the third consecutive contest with a total attached.
The Cougars broke open a close contest by outscoring the Falcons in the third quarter, 21-3. BYU finished the contest with advantages in first downs (32-21), passing yards (354-98) and time of possession (31:57-28:03).
Signal caller Max Hall completed 28-of-37 passes for 354 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while wideout Austin Collie caught seven passes for 130 yards and a pair of scores. Running back Harvey Unga paced the ground game with 19 carries for 88 yards and two touchdowns.
Utah (11-0 SU, 6-4 ATS) remained undefeated by routing San Diego State last weekend as a 29-point road ‘chalk,’ 63-14. There was no total on that matchup.
The Utes controlled the contest from start to finish, entering halftime with a comfortable 35-7 advantage. The game ended with Utah leading the Aztecs in first downs (30-19), rushing yards (198-73), passing yards (322-247), turnovers forced (3-1) and time of possession (33:17-26:43).
Quarterback Brian Johnson was 27-of-38 passing for 283 yards with five touchdowns and an interception. Wide receiver Freddie Brown accounted for 11 receptions for 110 yards and two scores, while running back Matt Asiata had 14 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown.
BYU has won the last two games in this series SU (1-1 ATS) after prevailing last season as a 4 ½-point home favorite, 17-10. The combined 27 points never seriously threatened the 47-point closing total. Eleven of the past 12 meetings in this series have been decided by a touchdown or less.
BYU linebacker Daniel Sorensen (ankle), linebacker Shawn Doman (appendix), defensive back Andrew Rich (head) and tight end Dennis Pitta (MCL) are ‘probable’ versus the Utes, while tight end Ray Feinga (back), defensive tackle Terrance Hooks (knee) and defensive back Scott Johnson (groin) are ‘questionable.’
Utah is reporting no players as ‘probable,’ ‘questionable’ or ‘doubtful.’
Saturday’s forecast for Salt Lake City calls for mostly sunny skies with just a 10 percent chance of rain. The projected high is 52 degrees, with a low of 30.
Brad Young can be reached at byoung@vegasinsider.com.
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