Utah at Colorado Week 13 Betting Pick & Spread

The Pac-12 South has been a fiercely contested division in the FBS this season, so it’s only right that two of the best teams in the division, the No. 9 Colorado Buffaloes (9-2) and the No. 21 Utah Utes (8-3), will be duking it out at Folsom Field in a game that will decide whether or not the Buffs clinch the southern title. Read on below for a college football odds breakdown of this game, complete with free NCAA Football picks for your Thanksgiving weekend wagers.

Utah at Colorado Week 13 Betting Pick & Spread

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Where: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colorado When: Saturday, November 26, 7:30 PM ET TV: FOX Stream: Fox Sports Go Radio: Utah / Colorado NCAA Football Lines: Colorado (-10), OVER/UNDER 53.5

Why Bet on Utah?

At 5-3 in conference play (with an 8-2 overall record and a 6-4 ATS mark), the Utes have a zero chance of winning the Pac-12 South title. Utah can, however, play a spoiler to Colorado’s title chances, as a victory by the Utes would make the USC Trojans (who’ve finished Pac-12 play with a 7-2 record, including a head-to- head tiebreaker over the Buffs) repeat South champions. That’s easier said and done, though, following Utah’s recent shaky form that has seen the team lose 2 of its last 3 outings, including a shocking 30-28 home upset at the hands of the free-falling Oregon Ducks (4-7). Even so, the Utes have won 4 of their last 5 All-time meetings against Colorado in Pac-12 play, including the last four in a row (for a 4-0 SU record), so the Utes shouldn’t be written off from pulling an upset here. More than that, the Utes have the second-best rushing attack unit in the Pac-12 and an above-average scoring defense (23.6 PPG allowed), which should be good enough to keep things close against Colorado, if not help them pull an outright upset.

Why Bet on Colorado?

The Buffaloes have been the real definition of defiance, dominance and unprecedented turnarounds in this year’s NCAAF lines. Last season, they finished the year as the worst team in Pac-12 South with a 1-8 record. Currently, they a 7-1 in Pac-12 play to go along with a 9-2 overall mark and ridiculous 10-1 ATS in 11 games this season, putting themselves just one victory away from making a worst-to- first turnaround in the division and a first berth in the Pac-12 Championship Game. And after delivering a master-class performance in last week’s 38-24 victory over the Washington State Cougars (who came into clash red-hot on an 8-game winning streak), it doesn’t take a genius to figure that the Buffaloes are definitely deserved favorites in this game. That said, the balanced Buffs (35.5 PPG scoring, 18.5 PPG allowed) will need to take this game very seriously, given that the Utes have previously dominated the winning column of this series.

Expert Predictions and Picks

While Utah has gone 4-1 in the five All-time meetings against Colorado, the Buffaloes have covered the spread in each of those fixtures (5-0 ATS) and all those games have come down to one possession, so it’s not like the Buffs have been totally outplayed in those five games. But as a key difference for this season, the Buffaloes are not only playing better in offense than the Utes (Colorado is scoring 35.5 PPG compared to Utah’s 31.5 PPG), but their defense is also head-and-shoulders above Utah’s defense, which has been the go-to strength for the Utes over the past many seasons. That, along with the fact that Colorado will be extremely psyched to run up the score at home in front of its fans, makes us believe that the Buffaloes will be good for both the SU and ATS wagers this weekend. Final Score Prediction: Colorado 35, Utah 21 Writer’s NCAA Football Pick: Colorado (-10)