It won’t help calm down Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio any, but the Pac-12 admitted on Monday that its officials missed a call in the final seconds on a field-goal attempt by MSU’s Matt Coghlin. He missed and Sparty lost 10-7, but there should have been a 15-yard penalty called because an Arizona State defensive player took a running start and leapt over the kicking team’s line in an attempt to block the kick. That would have made Coghlin’s try a much easier 32 yards. Here’s a look at two intriguing matchups for this week NCAA Football Betting action.
2019 College Football Week 4 Odds, Overview & Picks
No. 10 Utah at USC (+4.5)
- When: Friday, 9 PM ET
- TV: Fox Sports 1
- Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Good matchup on Friday night this week from the Pac-12 and the winner here likely will win the South Division – Utah is the defending South champion. This is the Utes’ conference opener this year, while USC is 1-0 in conference. Utah hasn’t won in Los Angeles since 1916, before the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where USC plays, was even built.
Last year, Utah blasted USC 41-28 in Salt Lake City. Tyler Huntley threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns on 22-of-29 passing. The Utes averaged 6.7 yards per play and generally had no trouble putting USC’s defense on its heels for four quarters. It helped Utah score 34 consecutive points to rally from an early 14-point deficit. JT Daniels was 6-of-16 passing for 89 yards and a score with two interceptions for USC. The Trojans generated just 205 total yards and averaged 3.8 yards per play.
Utah ranks 10th in this week’s AP poll, up one spot from last week and the highest ranked among the Pac-12’s six teams in the poll (conference’s most teams ranked in a week since 2015). It is Utah’s highest AP rank since 2015 and is the earliest the team has achieved a top 10 ranking in program history (previous was Sept. 27, 2015).
Utah has scored 30 or more points in the first three games for the first time since 2013. It is just the second time since 1994 when the Utes began the season 8-0 and scored 30 or more points in each of their first five games. With 100 rushing yards against USC, Utah’s Zack Moss will move into a tie for first all-time in career 100-yard rushing games at Utah (14).
Defensively, Utah is one of six other teams to tie for most defensive touchdowns in the FBS (2). The Utah defense also ranks seventh in rushing defense (65.0 ypg), eighth in interceptions (4) and total defense (239.3) and 13th in first downs allowed (37).
It’s just USC’s 12th Friday game since 1990 and only the third time that the Trojans have hosted a Friday game since 1999. USC holds an 11-6 record over Utah, including 8-1 in Los Angeles (with wins in the past 8 L.A. meetings). Since Utah joined the Pac-12, Troy is 5-3 versus the Utes, but the Trojans have lost 3 of the past 5 games. In 2017 in the most recent meeting in Los Angeles, No. 13 USC strung together 3 long scoring drives to overcome a 14-point halftime deficit, then stopped a Ute 2-point conversion in the final minute to hold on for a 28-27 comeback victory over Utah.
College Week 4 Betting Trends
- Utes are 10-3 SU in their last 13 games
- Utes are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Southern California
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Utah’s last 5 games played on a Friday
- Trojans are 3-6 SU in their last 9 games
- Trojans are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games played in week 4
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Southern California’s last 5 games against Utah
No. 11 Michigan at No. 13 Wisconsin (-3)
- When: Saturday, noon ET
- TV: Fox
- Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
Could be a preview of the Big Ten title game and both teams come off bye weeks. This will be the 68th meeting between Michigan and Wisconsin. The Wolverines hold a 51-15-1 advantage in the all-time series and have won nine of the last 14 matchups. U-M has claimed victories in 19 of the last 26 games played between the two schools and 33 of the last 41 matchups.
This will be the fourth time that Jim Harbaugh coaches against Wisconsin. He has wins in both home games (2016, 2018) and a loss on the road in 2017. The Wolverines have a 19-7-1 record in games played at Camp Randall Stadium (21-7-1 all-time in Madison). They are looking to claim their first victory at Wisconsin since 2001, a 20-17 affair against the Badgers. U-M has lost four straight at Wisconsin (2005, 2007, 2009 and 2017).
This will be the 10th meeting when both Michigan and Wisconsin are ranked in the Associated Press national polls. Michigan has compiled a 7-2 record against Wisconsin in top 25 matchups, including a 5-0 mark at Michigan Stadium and a 2-2 record at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Badgers are 30-5 (.857) at Camp Randall Stadium since the start of the 2014 season — fourth best in the nation. Only Alabama (34-1, .971), Clemson (35-1, .972) and Ohio State (34-3, .919) have better home winning percentages than the Badgers during that span.
Star UW tailback Jonathan Taylor is the first FBS player since at least 2000 with 4+ total TDs in consecutive games to start a season. The last Big Ten player to have 4+ total TDs in consecutive games was Wisconsin’s Montee Ball (vs. Penn State on Nov. 26, 2011 and vs. Michigan State on Dec. 3, 2011). Through 2 games, Taylor now has 5 catches for 65 yards with 3 TDs. He had a total of 8 catches for 60 yards with 0 TDs all of last year.
College Football Week 4 Betting Trends
- Wolverines are 12-2 SU in their last 14 games
- Wolverines are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against Wisconsin
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Michigan’s last 8 games played in week 4
- Badgers are 16-2 SU in their last 18 games at home
- Badgers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games played in week 4
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Wisconsin’s last 6 games played on a Saturday
Expert 2019 College Football Week 4 Betting Picks
Back Utah and Wisconsin.
