Washington State vs. Utah College Football Week 4 Picks and Predictions

Both Washington State and Utah likely will be missing their one-time starting quarterback Saturday when the Cougars visit the Utes in Pac-12 action. Which way to lean at SBR’s top-rated sportsbooks? Let's figure it out!

Washington State Cougars vs. Utah Utes

Saturday, September 25, 2021 - 02:30 PM EDT at Rice-Eccles Stadium

It’s the conference opener for Utah but not Washington State, which is 0-1 in the league. The Utes might be good enough to reach the Pac-12 title game and currently are +750 at SBR’s top-rated books to win the championship. Washington State definitely will not win the North Division and is +20000 to win the conference title. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJhVagyHcxQ

These schools have split 18 all-time meetings. Interestingly, it’s the second straight season they will play in Salt Lake City. They closed the 2020 season against one another and Utah won 45-28 as an 11.5-point favorite on the NCAAF odds. The Cougars were up 28-7 at the half but obviously didn’t score after intermission. Ty Jordan was Utah’s star in rushing for 154 yards and three scores on 22 carries. Sadly, he died about a week after that game of a gunshot wound. Jordan was the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Jayden de Laura completed 17-for-28 for 204 yards with a TD and a pick for Washington State. More on him below. 

The home team is 6-2 against the spread in the past eight meetings. 

Wazzu QB Situation Murky 

Washington State (1-2) lost its Pac-12 opener last week at home to USC, 45-14. The Cougars led 14-7 at the half and then did nothing offensively after the break. Perhaps that’s because starting QB Jayden de Laura suffered a leg injury and was replaced early in the second half. De Laura had completed 10-for-19 for 117 yards with two scores and a pick. It’s too early to tell if he can play this week. 

“It’ll be close,” coach Nick Rolovich told the media on Monday. “It’s day-by-day right now.”  

https://twitter.com/WSUCougarFB/status/1440050188257677317?s=20

Considering de Laura was wearing a brace and limping, color us skeptical. It’s also not clear who might start in his place: Walk-on Victor Gabalis, grad transfer Jarrett Guarantano and junior Cammon Cooper are “all very close” for the backup role, according to the coach. Cooper was 4-for-5 for 44 yards and a pick vs. USC and Gabalis 6-for-10 for 19 yards. Guarantano, a transfer from Tennessee, was injured early in the season opener but might be ready to return for this one. 

“I think they’re all really close and all have a little bit of a different skillset and things that they’re comfortable with,” Rolovich said.  

Travell Harris was a bright spot in the USC loss with 114 all-purpose yards and two receiving scores. It was his fourth career multi-TD game. He’s also a good returner. Washington State forced three USC turnovers but turned it over four times itself. Since 2015, the Cougars are 30-9 when forcing multiple turnovers. They are 13th nationally with seven takeaways this year.  

Washington State is 0-6 ATS on NCAAF picks in its past six overall.  

Utes QB Leaves Program After Losing Job 

Utah (1-2) is not far from being unbeaten with a hard-fought loss at BYU on Sept. 11, and then a 33-31 triple-overtime loss at a very good San Diego State team this past Saturday. It was a minor miracle that the Utes forced OT as they were down 24-10 to the Aztecs with about four minutes left in regulation. 

Backup quarterback Cameron Rising, a Texas transfer, led the Utes' comeback by passing for 153 yards and three touchdowns after replacing an ineffective Charlie Brewer late in the third quarter. And the job is Rising’s moving forward as Brewer, the Baylor transfer, announced Tuesday he was leaving the program.  

Charlie Brewer #12 of the Utah Utes. Chris Gardner/Getty Images/AFP.

Before being benched Saturday, Brewer led drives that ended in seven punts, plus an interception. The first depth chart for this week had Brewer behind Rising and apparently that was enough for Brewer to leave. Rising was named the team's starting QB in 2020 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury to his throwing arm in Utah's first game. Second-year freshman and another Texas transfer Ja’Quinden Jackson is listed as the new backup QB.  

On defense, Utah boasts one of the best linebacker tandems in the country in Devin Lloyd and Nephi Sewell, with Lloyd ranking second in the nation with 38 tackles. Saturday is Homecoming for Utah, which is 61-34-4 all-time in Homecoming games and 1-1 vs. Washington State in them. The Utes are 73-25 at home during the Kyle Whittingham era and have won 14 of their past 15. 

Utah is 11-3 ATS on the NCAAF odds in its past 14 Pac-12 games. The Utes’ QB situation is much clearer than Wazzu’s, so we’ll give the points and we also like the under. Utah is always good at home defensively. 

NCAAF Pick:  (visit our Sportsbook Review)

NCAAF Pick:  

*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.