Golden Bears/Utes
Utah may not have the explosive playmakers on offense that California boasts, but they have the better overall defense and a much more reliable offense.The Utes are also a team that can control tempo and make opponents play at “their” pace and style.They’re also very familiar with the Cal offense, as Bears’ coordinator Andy Ludwig had the same role at Utah for the previous four seasons.
In my opinion,Utah is the better team, but surprisingly they’re a +3 underdog here.My best guess is that it’s based on the public perception that the Pac 10 is superior top to bottom than the Mountain West.Utah is as good as it gets out of the Mountain West, a conference with a solid reputation and four excellent teams at the top: TCU, BYU, the Utes and Air Force.Utah is 8-0 straight up in bowl games during the past decade and going back to 1992 is on a 9-3 SU/ATS bowl run.
This is usually one of the better bowl dates of the season, but the selectors may not get what they bargained for out of the PAC-10 with the Golden Bears, who were hammered in four losses to Oregon, USC, Oregon St. and Washington by a combined score of 145-30. Cal did have a couple of bright spots late in the season with wins over Arizona and Stanford, but they lack consistency and possibly, desire.
The Utes only losses were on the road and all of them to ranked teams - Oregon, TCU and BYU, and only the TCU game was a blowout, though the Horned Frogs busted up everyone they played this season, so that's nothing of which to be ashamed. The loss to the Ducks was by a TD, and they took the Cougars into OT in their season finale.
+3
In my opinion,Utah is the better team, but surprisingly they’re a +3 underdog here.My best guess is that it’s based on the public perception that the Pac 10 is superior top to bottom than the Mountain West.Utah is as good as it gets out of the Mountain West, a conference with a solid reputation and four excellent teams at the top: TCU, BYU, the Utes and Air Force.Utah is 8-0 straight up in bowl games during the past decade and going back to 1992 is on a 9-3 SU/ATS bowl run.
This is usually one of the better bowl dates of the season, but the selectors may not get what they bargained for out of the PAC-10 with the Golden Bears, who were hammered in four losses to Oregon, USC, Oregon St. and Washington by a combined score of 145-30. Cal did have a couple of bright spots late in the season with wins over Arizona and Stanford, but they lack consistency and possibly, desire.
The Utes only losses were on the road and all of them to ranked teams - Oregon, TCU and BYU, and only the TCU game was a blowout, though the Horned Frogs busted up everyone they played this season, so that's nothing of which to be ashamed. The loss to the Ducks was by a TD, and they took the Cougars into OT in their season finale.
+3
