Week 2: Utah vs Southern Utah 9/10/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Utah Utes and Southern Utah Thunderbirds do battle Saturday night in week 2 college football action at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Southern Utah Thunderbirds look for another win after beating up on St. Thomas. The Utah Utes look for a bounce back showing after their loss to Florida.

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds have lost 6 of their last 7 road games. Justin Miller is completing 65.7 percent of his passes for 364 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interception. Isaiah Wooden and Mata’ava Ta’ase have combined for 238 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, while Bradeon Wissler has 3 receptions. The Southern Utah Thunderbirds ground game is averaging 117 yards per contest, and Isaiah Williams leads the way with 41 yards on 5 carries. Defensively, Southern Utah is allowing 13 points and 462 yards per game. Josh Dunn leads the Southern Utah Thunderbirds with 6 tackles, Payton Payne has 1 sack and Rodrick Ward has 1 interception.

The Utah Utes haven’t lost at home since November 2020. Cameron Rising is completing 68.8 percent of his passes for 216 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Brant Kuithe and Devaughn Vele have combined for 141 receiving yards and 1 touchdown, while Micah Bernard has 5 receptions. The Utah Utes ground game is averaging 230 yards per contest, and Travion Thomas leads the way with 115 yards and 1 touchdown. Defensively, Utah is allowing 29 points and 452 yards per game. Cole Bishop leads the Utah Utes with 12 tackles, Jonah Elliss has 1 forced fumble and R.J. Hubert has 1 forced fumble.

The Thunderbirds are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games and 2-10 ATS in their last 12 games overall. The Utes are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games and 1-7 ATS in their last 8 non-conference games. The over is 7-2 in Thunderbirds last 9 games overall. The over is 8-3 in Utes last 11 games overall.

The Southern Utah Thunderbirds haven’t had much success on the road over the years, and this will be their toughest opponent and venue in quite some time. I’d consider the road dog if everything was good with the Utah Utes, but they’re going to be an angry club after a heartbreaking loss to Florida. Motivation and focus will be on the Utes side here. Massive line, but Utah likely blows the doors off at home.