Week 1 of the college football season is here after a decently profitable Week 0 with limited games. We have significantly more options this week as the full spread of contests is back for us. Our goal is to profit starting Thursday night with Weber State and Utah kicking off. These are two strong and consistent programs facing each other.
Utah has a strong analytical profile entering the year as they return about 91% of 2020 production from last year and added quarterback Charlie Brewer. But Weber State is a great FCS competitor. Let’s take a look the NCAAF odds and why each team will win and cover when we eventually have a line published before kickoff.
Weber State Wildcats vs. Utah Utes
Thursday, September 2, 2021 – 7:30 PM EDT at Rice-Eccles Stadium
Why Weber State Will Win
This was a good, strong FCS playoff team through the spring session, going unbeaten in the short regular season before dropping a 34-31 heartbreaker to Southern Illinois in the playoffs. The Wildcats get the job done on defense. They’re terrific at getting into the backfield, they’re a rock against decent passing teams, and they’re great at taking the ball away. Utah has a young offensive line and Charlie Brewer was subpar playing against pressure last year.
Is there enough talent athletically to hang in the trenches when Utah tries to impose their will on the ground? This is the key question. Because the Utes continue to recruit and develop well, but have had limited time with their current line to get them stronger and consistent, On the other side, they run the ball, don’t make a slew of mistakes, and they’re able to control games by making teams play their pace and style.
This is a perfect recipe for an underdog to cover but this style requires the other team to fall into the trap. Weber State is good but they’re not a team that boasts a game-breaker who is so clearly better than anyone else in the FCS level. That type of star is required to pull the ultimate upset against a solid FBS team.
Why Utah Will Win
Weber State isn’t going to find success getting physical with the Utah lines. This is the single most important facet of any collegiate game, and the Utes have an impressive array of young talent. They may have the best line in the country in 2022 after this group gels and gets stronger. The Utes struggled to get going in 2020 – it was the last Power Five program to start the season – and they weren’t able to get the passing game going.
Adding Brewer as an athletic piece was huge, and he might be 80% of what Jason Huntley was in 2019 for a very successful team. The woes of 2020 will prove to be clearly in the rearview mirror. This front five and running game will pound away, the linebacking corps will keep the Weber State running game from breaking off big runs, and with former Baylor QB Charlie Brewer in the mix now, everything should be a bit smoother.
What’s Going To Happen
The Utah defense will take over and dominate. The Utes’ offense will score on its first drive, but it’ll struggle for a bit against a feisty and sharp Weber State defense. There won’t be too much drama when it comes to the final score.
Utah’s offense will score when it needs to but it won’t be over until midway through the third quarter. Again, the Utes’ defense will get the job done, and then the offense will put it away late with a few good scoring drives.
NCAAF Predicition: Utah -29 (-120) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
