NCAAF Saturday Sports Betting - BYU Cougars at Utah Utes

It's quite a showdown in the Mountain West Conference on Saturday, as the BYU Cougars (10-1 SU, 3-7 ATS) will take on the Utah Utes (11-0 SU, 6-3-1 ATS), who actually harbour some national championship aspirations, in NCAA college football sports betting action that is set to kick off at 6 PM ET at Rice-Eccles Stadium (artificial turf) in Salt Lake City.

BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: UTAH -7, Total 53.5

Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* BYU has covered one of its last seven games

* BYU has won 20 of its last 21 games SU

* BYU has covered one of its last five road games

* BYU has won eight of its last nine road games SU

* BYU has played four of its last six road games OVER the total

* UTAH has covered four of its last five games

* UTAH has played four of its last six games OVER the total

* UTAH has won its last five home games SU

Also...

* UTAH has covered four of the last six meetings

* BYU has won and covered four of the last six meetings as the road team

Last year BYU won this battle by a 17-10 score, and had a 180-yard advantage in total offense. This year the Cougars are arguably better on offense, and Max Hall is one of the nation's top ten rated quarterbacks at the controls. Hall has completed 71.5% of his passes, with 34 TD's and 3424 yards. And Hall gets some balance with Harvey Unga, who's gained 945 yards. Brian Johnson, a sixth-year senior (got medical exemption) has been a steady hand for Utah, with a 67% completion rate and 20 TD's. And Matt Asiata (633 yards, 5.2 ypc) is a presence in the backfield who can help Utah move the chains against a BYU defensive line that doesn't always get the job done.

That brings us to the difference here, which is on the defensive side. Utah has held tight, allowing 57 points in its last five games. And the Utes are rock-ribbed on their defensive line, allowing a shade under three yards a carry and 95 yards a game (that's 7th in the country). The Cougars have been much looser - so loose, in fact, that this team, which had national title aspirations at the start of the season, has had very close calls with very suspect teams like Colorado State (45-42), Washington (28-27) and UNLV (42-35). This is a substantial advantage for the Utes.

And it may just represent a class difference. Utah is currently #7 in the BCS rankings, and there is quite a bit to lose, since BYU, which is #14 in those same rankings, could easily move into the non-BCS conference spot in the BCS. We look for another top effort from a team that has given a number of top efforts, and which has the better chance to make the opponent one-dimensional. We'll lay the points with Utah, the seven-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA college football sports betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: UTAH -7 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

(Charles Jay of http://www.ebookies.com gives it more than the old college try as a contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)