Utah at Washington line, prediction, odds: Can Utes keep up with Huskies’ high-powered offense?

Utah has won the last two Pac-12 titles, but Washington is all alone at the top of the conference’s standings. The two teams meet on Saturday, but the Utes are a longshot to spoil Washington’s perfect season. Washington enters Saturday’s showdown favored by more than a touchdown.

The Huskies are in control of the Pac-12 and that reality is very much a credit to the Huskies’ offense proving to be one of, if not the best, in college football. The undeniable head of the snake is Michael Penix Jr., whose Heisman Trophy candidacy is alive and well. He’ll get a chance to further enhance it against the conference’s least-generous pass defense (201.1 passing yards allowed by Utah per game). Penix, the nation’s leader in passing yards (3,201), will face one of the stiffest defensive tests of his season.

If Utah’s offense could come close to matching the production of its defense, this would be an incredibly dangerous team. But there’s an understandable reason why it isn’t. It has almost everything to do with the absence of star quarterback Cameron Rising, who’ll now officially miss the entire 2023 season due to ACL recovery. His replacement, Bryson Barnes, starred against USC and had four touchdown passes against Arizona State last week, but was shut down against Oregon two weeks ago.

Can Washington’s defense do to Utah what Oregon’s did? Can Utah’s defense limit Washington’s offense enough for the Utes to keep up?

All odds from BetMGM. Looking for college football tickets? Find them here.

What is the spread for Utah at Washington?

Expert picks against the spread

How to watch and stream Utah at Washington

Opening kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. FOX will broadcast the game and it will be streamed on the Fox Sports app.