Late kickoff, road dog, nearly a touchdown. Houston visits Utah on Saturday, October 24 at 7:15 PM PT / 10:15 PM ET in Salt Lake City, UT, and the Cougars were catching 6.5 points when the guys taped on October 20. Nobody on the College Football Picks Week 8 episode wanted to lay it.
Houston vs Utah Odds
Utah was a 6.5-point favorite over Houston with a total of 56.5 when the guys taped on October 20. On air, Ryan read the money line as Utah -245 and Houston +198.
Our Picks
- Ryan Kramer (@KramerCentric): Houston +6.5
- Sean Green (@SeanTGreen): Houston +6.5
- Colby Dant (@thecolbyd): Houston +6.5
Colby opened with doubts about Utah, saying the Utes have played a very light schedule to start the season. His Houston case came in two parts. He called the Cougars the sixth-best rushing defense in the country, which forces Utah to win through the air, and he liked that Houston has already been through a hostile road game, a loss at Texas Tech he described as coming down to an inch on a two-point conversion. Cold weather in Salt Lake did not scare him off.
Sean agreed and went to the offense. Houston is putting up 485 yards per game by his count, and he expects them to move the ball. He pictured a 28-24 sort of game, maybe a three- or four-point Utah win, and said he would be surprised to see the Utes blow Houston out.
Ryan took the longest to get there. Sean figured he would back Utah like he usually does, and Ryan spent a minute talking about BYU ticket prices before saying he would take the points. His reason was the schedule: Utah has the Holy War with BYU a couple of weeks away, with a trip to Cincinnati in between, and he thinks a team looking past the week in front of it is a team that can slip. He also came back to Colby’s points about Houston’s veteran quarterback and its run defense.
Hear the full breakdown on the College Football Picks Week 8 episode, or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Watch every game on YouTube, and download the SGPN app at sg.pn/links. See all our College Football Picks.