College football picks, Week 4: UCLA vs. Utah prediction, odds, spread, game preview, more

One of the three ranked matchups in the Pac-12 on Saturday will feature the No. 22 UCLA Bruins hitting the road to face the No. 11 Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Kickoff for this showdown is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on Fox.

UCLA (3-0, 0-0 Pac-12) handled its business through the non-conference of its schedule, capping it with a 59-7 blowout of NC Central last Saturday. The team jumped out to a 35-0 lead in the first quarter and put the rest of the game on autopilot as several backups on both sides got to play. The offense compiled over 400 rushing yards and were led by running back Anthony Adkins in the win.

Utah (3-0, 0-0 Pac-12) also took care of its non-conference opponents and had little issue putting down in-state Weber State in a 31-7 victory last week. The Utes will finally have their starting quarterback under center for Saturday’s Pac-12 opener as Cam Rising will make his season debut. Rising tore his ACL in the Rose Bowl this past January and has spent the last eight months rehabbing the injury. Backup Nate Johnson has held down the fort through the first three weeks of the regular season.

SP+ Rankings

UCLA: 19 overall, 14 offense, 35 defense
Utah: 17 overall, 23 offense, 16 defense

Injury update

UCLA

LB Ale Kaho - Questionable (Leg)
WR Titus Mokiao-Atimalala (Undisclosed)

Utah

QB Cam Rising - Probable (Knee)QB Brandon Rose - Questionable (Undiclosed)WR Mycah Pittman - Questionable (Undisclosed)WR Devaughn Vele - Questionable (Undisclosed)TE Brant Kuithe - Out (Knee)

RB Micah Bernard - Out for season (Undisclosed)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread in 2023

UCLA: 2-1 ATS
Utah: 1-1-1 ATS

Total in 2023

UCLA: Over 1-2
Utah: Over 0-3

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Utah -3.5
Total: 52.5
Moneyline: Utah -175, UCLA +145

Opening line: Utah -6
Opening total: 52.5

Weather

The Pick

Under 52.5

The spread for this game moved from Utah -4.5 to Utah -6 on Thursday when it became apparent that Rising would suit up. While the Utes are rightfully a home favorite with their leader back under center, he may still not be 100% and I don’t anticipate everything immediately clicking for him and the offense. What I can see is Utah’s defense making things difficult for UCLA true freshman quarterback Dante Moore as he experiences his first true road test in the Pac-12. This game has 28-17 written all over it, so give me the under.