Weber State Wildcats vs. Utah Utes Odds & Game Pick (2021)

These teams have played four times. Utah has the upper hand 4-0. The last time these two schools met was on September 7, 2013, Utah won 70-7. Weber State is one of the better FCS schools out there. That will be true this year as we see them coming off a spring season in which they went undefeated in the regular season and lost the first round of the playoffs. Going 11-4 in 2019 then 5-1 in 2020 should show the upward trend that Weber State has been taking in recent years. 

Utah has also made strides in the most recent years. 11-3 in 2019 and 3-2 in 2020. Utah lost multiple players after 2019.  2020 was a season for them to rebuild and get some experience for the 2021 season. The defense looks to be the strongest side of this team. Transfer QB Charlie Brewer will provide a spark to Utah on offense. The tragic passing of Ty Jordan will leave a big hole in running back for Utah. 

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Odds courtesy of BetMGM

Details

• Opening Lines: Spread Utah – 35.5, Total 46.5
• Current Winning Streak: Utah (4)
• Last Meeting: September 7, 2013, Utah (70-7)

Overview

Both of these teams are trending upwards in recent years. Utah will have to use this game to figure out their offense. They have a new quarterback in Charlie Brewer, who transferred from Baylor where he threw for 9,700 yards, 65 touchdowns while rushing for another 22 touchdowns. Utah's offensive line and running back starters are still undecided. The wide receivers look to be solid with transfer Theo Howard from Oklahoma starting. This first game will give Coach Whittingham opportunities to rotate some players around. 

The defensive side of the ball looks to be good this year. Veteran linebackers Devin Lloyd, Nephi Sewell, and Hayden Furey will be leading this team. Having a solid secondary with Ja'Travis Broughton and Clark Phillips III will cause some issues for teams this year. Defensive lineman Van Fillinger looks to have a solid year as he fills in for Maxs Tupai. This will be a mature defense that has lots of experience. Hopefully, they will carry some of the weight as the offense figures out some things. 

Weber State has young guys on the offensive side of the ball this year. Starting freshman quarterback Bronson Barron will have to learn this year as he takes over the offense. Three of the five offensive linemen will be making their debut as well. Veteran RB Josh Davis is going to provide some much-needed experience to this offense. Rushing for over 1,100 yards in 2019, he looks to continue being the workhorse in this offense. The offense is going to be trying to find their identity this year. 

Weber State's defense has experience. Returning all but two starters from 2020. This defense can get into the backfield. They have a great secondary and are fantastic at taking the ball away. This will be perfect for Weber State's control of the clock playing style that they will want to do in this game to prevent Utah from scoring.

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Bottom Line

The Utah defense is going to take over. This defense is great. With Weber State's young offense still learning and finding their identity, they will struggle to get started against this defense. Both of these offenses will struggle to score initially, but the veteran quarterback experience will kick in, and Charlie Brewer will guide this team to score. He has great wide receivers, and his mobility will buy time for them to get open even with the offensive line banged up. Utah takes this one and scores enough to beat the over.

Pick: Total Over 46.5 (-120)

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Cameron Lynch is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Cameron, check out his archive and follow him @captron26.