A nationally ranked opponent heads to War Memorial Stadium on Saturday night as the No. 20 Utah Utes (2-0) face off against the Wyoming Cowboys (2-0). With the Utes firing on all cylinders through their first two games and the Cowboys also undefeated thus far, will this one be competitive or lead to another blowout?
Prepare your betting cards with a Wyoming Cowboys vs. Utah Utes prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Wyoming vs. Utah prediction, preview
Wyoming Cowboys
The Cowboys enter with a 2-0 record thus far but it’s fair to question the caliber of this team, at least to an extent. They beat Akron just 10-0 to open the season despite totaling 426 yards of offense in that game, and their win last week came with a 31-7 final score over Northern Iowa of the FCS. The quality of opponents Wyoming’s faced thus far doesn’t strike a ton of confidence, nor does the fact the team scored just 10 points against a MAC foe that finished near the bottom of that conference last season.
However, it’s not necessarily bad news for the Cowboys. The defense obviously looks talented after conceding just seven points through two weeks, a feat regardless of who they’ve played. Wyoming also allowed just 228 and 170 yards in each of their first two games, but that certainly won’t be the case tonight against a far superior team. The offense is still averaging 402.5 yards per game, but moving the ball against this top-25 team will also prove difficult.
Quarterback Kaden Anderson’s efficiency needs some work as he sits at a 61% completion percentage with 427 yards and three touchdowns to one interception. His top target, Chris Durr Jr., boasts 12 receptions for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and tight end John Michael Gyllenborg sits second with eight catches for 84 yards and a score. The run game is led by Sam Scott, whose 190 yards and one touchdown have come with an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Again though, tonight may come as a shock given the caliber of opponent the Cowboys face.
Utah Utes
Meanwhile, the Utes have absolutely dominated through the first two weeks of their season after a 43-10 drubbing of UCLA and 63-9 blowout over FCS program Cal Poly. For the sake of the argument, focusing on the first game makes much more sense given the caliber of program Utah is. While UCLA seems like a fraudulent team after suffering their third straight loss last night, it’s still noteworthy that the Utes hung 492 yards of offense on the Big Ten program while picking up 30 first downs, converting 14-of-17 third-downs, and controlling the time of possession 37:28 to 22:32.
By all means, Utah looks like it means business this year. Averaging 53 points and 505 yards per contest is nothing to scoff at, even if one of the games in that sample came against an FCS team that big schools tend to demolish. The Utes are getting the job done primarily on the ground with a very physical run game that averages 279.5 yards per game on the small sample, and it’s efficient work as well with 5.6 yards per attempt. That’s simply difficult to stop for any team.
Quarterback Devon Dampier hasn’t needed to throw the ball all that much, but he’s completed an outstanding 79.2% of his 48 passes for 398 yards and five touchdowns without a single interception. His dual-threat ability is also noteworthy as he sits tied with Wayshawn Parker for the team lead with 112 rushing yards. NaQuari Rogers also has 92 rushing yards and a team-high three touchdowns. While Ryan Davis holds the team lead with nine receptions for 80 yards and a score, tight end Dallen Bentley has seven catches for 66 yards and two receiving touchdowns as well.
Wyoming vs. Utah pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists Utah as a 23.5-point road favorite on Saturday with -2800 odds on the Moneyline. Wyoming enters with +1300 odds to win outright with the game total set at just 46.5 combined points.
The Cowboys’ defense has put together a couple of strong performances to start the season, but it feels as though that’s bound to change tonight. While Wyoming plays physical football in the trenches, Utah does the same and brings one of the nation’s top run games to the table this evening. There’s a massive gap in quality between these squads and I’m admittedly a little bit surprised to see the spread set this low. I fully expect the Utes to dominate in all phases of the game tonight and rack up 35+ points, so with that in mind, I feel quite comfortable taking them to cover at -23.5 on the road.
