Barnes’ college forecast: Utah should thrive with QB change
Utah has been one of the most overvalued teams so far this season, but now looks like the perfect time to buy the Utes.
After a perfunctory 40-17 win over Weber State in the opener, Utah has lost two straight road games as a favorite of more than a touchdown. The Utes first fell to Brigham Young 26-17 as 7-point favorites, then lost to San Diego State 33-31 in triple overtime last week as 8½-point favorites.
Utah benched quarterback Charlie Brewer during the San Diego State loss, and he responded by leaving the team.
That’s probably for the best. Backup Cam Rising threw for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to erase a 24-10 deficit, then threw another TD in overtime before San Diego State pulled out the victory.
Change can galvanize underperforming but talented teams such as Utah. Last week, Southern California and Texas rolled to easy covers after making changes at coach and quarterback, respectively.
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham has proved reliable over the years, and Washington State has shown few signs of life this season. I’ll lay 14½ with Utah.
Here are four other plays for this week:
— Kent State +14½: The Golden Flashes struggled to score in losses to Texas A&M and Iowa this season, but they should find much easier going against Maryland. The Terrapins are 3-0, including tough wins over West Virginia and Illinois, but they could be peeking ahead to their own matchup with No. 5 Iowa next week.
— Western Kentucky +9½: The Hilltoppers can score and should be able to stick with Indiana. The Hoosiers also could be discouraged after being blown out by Iowa in their opener and then blowing multiple leads to Cincinnati last week. Western Kentucky has had two weeks off, and here’s betting the Hilltoppers will be much more interested in this game than Indiana.
— Texas-San Antonio +3: The Roadrunners are off to a 3-0 start and could be catching Memphis at the right time after the Tigers upset Mississippi State last week. UTSA already showed it could go on the road and win in its opener against Illinois, and the Roadrunners are clearly headed in the right direction under coach Jeff Traylor in his second season.
— Texas A&M -4½: The Aggies haven’t played their A-plus game yet after coming into the season as a dark horse national title contender. Arkansas has done nothing but play its A-plus game since trailing Rice at halftime of its opener. The Razorbacks charged back to beat the Owls 38-17, then tore through Texas (40-21) and Georgia Southern (45-10). That can’t go on forever. Bet on Texas A&M to finally show its strength in the neutral-site game in Arlington, Texas.
— Last week: 3-2
— Season: 8-7
Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.
