The No. 22 ranked UCLA Bruins travel to Salt Lake City for an important Pac-12 Conference matchup with the No. 11 ranked Utah Utes. Kick-off is set for 3:30 pm ET at Rice-Eccles Field.
This is a big matchup in both teams’ final season in the Pac-12 Conference. Find out who we like to win this game when we preview UCLA vs Utah for Saturday, September 3, 2023.
UCLA vs Utah Odds
Track our latest CFB odds for the Bruins vs the Utes.
NCAAF lines used below for UCLA @ Utah were current as of Sept. 20 at 3:49 pm EST on Caesars Sportsbook.
- Moneyline: Utah (-195) • UCLA (+162)
- Spread: Utah -4.0 (-112) • UCLA +4.0 (-108)
- Total Points: Over 53 (-110) • Under 53 (-110)
Utah opened as a -8.0 favorite, but strong money came in on UCLA and moved it towards the Bruins, and now Utah is favored by -4.0.
The total opened at 61.5, but the sharps felt that number was too low and currently rests at 63 points.
UCLA vs Utah Prediction
SCORE PICK: Utah 27, UCLA 17
This should be a cracker of a Pac-12 contest, but the Utes have a number of injuries to several starting players, and the status of Utah starting QB Cam Rising is uncertain. Still, Utah is 3-0 without most of those players out of the lineup and boasts a 16-game home winning streak at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah has already defeated Florida and Baylor this year without starting Rising. I feel confident that reserve QB Nate Johnson and his offense will score at least 27 points against a Bruins side playing its most difficult opponent to date.
Finally, the Utes defense has injuries but was terrific defensively against Florida and Baylor. They’ve defeated UCLA in five of their last six meetings, and they should get the best of the Bruins and their true freshman QB Dante Moore.
(Find the top California sportsbooks where you can wager on the Bruins.)
UCLA vs Utah Best Bets
Under 52.5 (-110)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 unit
Anytime two nationally ranked teams meet for a conference game is always a treat, and 52.5 points is too many for this game. DraftKings opened the game at 51.5 (-110), and that number has risen to 52.5 points, making the Under 52.5 an excellent play for Saturday.
Rising hasn’t played a snap yet, and if he does dress, he won’t be as sharp as usual. The offense will have to adjust to a new QB, cadence, snap count, and differences in leadership. The Utes will also have to deal with a Bruins defense allowing 69.7 yards rushing yards per game and has held its three previous opponents to less than 20 points a game.
On the flip side, UCLA is starting a true freshman at QB who throws the ball well with a pair of RBs with over 200 rushing yards each and four backs averaging at least eight yards per attempt. They’ll be able to move the ball against Utah, but the Utes red zone defense is one of the best in the country, and that should keep the score well below the 52.5-point total.
Utah -4.0 (-112)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 unit
The number dropping from -8.0 to -4.0 seems like a gift and one we should accept. The Utes might have injury concerns, but they are 3-0 playing against the likes of Florida and Baylor and should cover the -4.5 points.
UCLA is a young team with a frosh QB making his first Pac-12 start against a stout defense, allowing 270 total yards of offense per game. The Utes defense led the way in their 20-13 road win over Baylor, allowed 11 points at home to a decent Florida offense, and should get enough defensive stops for the offense to outscore UCLA, win this game, and cover the -4.0.
UCLA vs Utah Same Game Parlay
UCLA vs Utah SGP (+265)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 0.10 unit
Under 52.5 (-110)
Utah -4.5 (-110)
Our SGP card runs along the same theme as our other picks, just with different numbers and betting odds.
We lost 0.5 points, but we did get even money on the total. Rushing the football is what UCLA does best, and while the Utah defense is missing some critical pieces, they’ve allowed 65 rushing yards per game. The Utes offense hasn’t scored more than 31 points in any game, and they won’t score that many against the Bruins.
Utah opened up favored by eight points, which has fallen to four at DraftKings. The SGP forces us to accept the -4.5, and the Utes should cover at home. UCLA will have difficulty stopping the multi-faceted Johnson and RB Ja’Quinden Jackson running the football–the Utes will get enough stops for Utah to punch in one more TD than UCLA and cover the spread.
