Utah vs. UCLA point spread: Picking Utes vs. Bruins

UCLA travels to Utah for an intriguing Pac-12 showdown — one that’s getting slightly overshadowed by a matchup in Oregon — that might go a long way in deciding the league. It will also go a long way in showing On3’s Andy Staples and Barstool Sports’ Kayce Smith what UCLA is actually made of.

And with the hosting Utes favored by 4.5, both Staples and Smith couldn’t find fault with taking the home team, and did. For Staples, it’s a question about how good UCLA truly is.

“I know they’re above average. What I can’t figure out is are they like Pac-12 title contender good or are they kind of one notch below? Because I think Chip Kelly’s figured out what his style needs to look like and it’s a very physical style where they run a lot between the tackles and that sets up the passing game,” Staples said.

A big step forward for UCLA has been elevating freshman quarterback Dante Moore into the starting role. But overall Smith, like Staples, doesn’t feel like she has a complete picture of what the Bruins really are.

“But this is going to really show exactly where UCLA is in the mix and exactly where Utah is and you look at that Utah-Florida game and obviously Florida goes out and kills Tennessee, you were there, you saw, it looks like a different team. But that, to me, is also a testament of this Utah defense and really the way that they were able to say, ‘Hey, we don’t have our starting quarterback but it’s going to be OK. We’re going to make it work.’ I don’t know enough about UCLA. And I’ll admit that. I see on paper how good they’ve looked. Their defense has looked good, Chip Kelly. I’ve not watched a full UCLA game,” Smith said.

On the other side of the field, both Smith and Staples feel confident in what they’ll get from Utah.

“I’ve seen what Utah is able to do. And then I’ve seen — and I know we can’t always do transitive property but we have to at some point — and I’ve seen what they did against Florida and then what Florida has been able to do moving forward. So for a gambling standpoint, I have to be able to take Utah. Because I at least know enough about them. I don’t know enough about UCLA,” Smith said.

There’s also a possibility for Utah to get quarterback Cam Rising back from a torn ACL on Saturday. Head coach Kyle Whittingham said on Tuesday that a decision would be made by the medical staff on Thursday. Rising has apparently practice in full all week.

With that possibility in the wings, Staples also stuck with the home favorite.

“But we’re sitting here a month into the season, it may be alright to bring him back at some point. That’s going to give the Utes such a boost and they’re already pretty damn good. As they get healthier, they’re going to get better. And they had other players at other positions that are getting healthier as they go and I just think, I think Utah covers this just because they are rounding into form as they hit that stretch run in the Pac-12,” Staples said.

The Bruins and Utes kick off at 3:30 p.m. EST with the game broadcast on FOX.