No. 16 Utah Favored by Two Touchdowns Over Cal

No one other than Kyle Whittingham seems to know whether Utah quarterback Cameron Rising will make his season debut against Cal on Saturday afternoon, but that has not prevented betting sites from making the 16th-ranked Utes a significant favorite in the game against the Bears in Salt Lake City.

SI Sportsline lists Utah as a 13.5-point favorite over the Golden Bears, and nearly every other reputable betting site also lists Cal as 13.5-point underdogs. The only exception seems to be BetOnline.ag, which lists Utah only as a 13-point favorite.

It will be interesting to see whether the point spread changed between now and Saturday's game, which begins at noon Pacific time.

Whittingham said Monday he knows whether Rising will play against Cal, but he was unwilling to reveal that knowledge publicly.

"If someone could give me one reason why it would help us win to announce it, I'll tell you everything," Whittingham said Monday, "but I can't think of one thing."

It was the same stance Cal coach Justin Wilcox took last week, knowing as of last Tuesday that Fernando Mendoza would be his new starting quarterback but refusing to announce it publicly.

In any case, the Utes (4-1) now are nearly two-touchdown favorites over Cal (3-3), even though Utah's offense has suffered without Rising at the helm. Utah's offense scored just one touchdown in each of its past two games. That was enough to pull out a 14-7 victory over Utah three weeks ago, but led to a 21-7 loss to Oregon State in its most recent game two weeks ago.

The Utes had a bye this past week, while Cal lost to Oregon State 52-40. The Golden Bears' problems on defense may be why oddsmakers figure the Utes can score some points against Cal whether Rising plays or not.

The bigger issue, though, is the site of the game. Utah has won 17 straight games at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, the second-longest home winning streak in the country. Whether it's the altitude or just Utah's talent that has made the Utes so tough to beat at their home venue is unclear, but it is not fluke. In addition to its home winning streak, Utah has won 28 of its last 29 home games.

If Rising does not play, Utah presumably will start freshman Nate Johnson at quarterback, while Cal will go with redshirt freshman Fernando Mendoza, who was impressive in his first collegiate start on Saturday against Oregon State. But the Bears' defense gave up 52 points in that game, the second time it has yielded more than 50 points in a game this season.

Rising is recovering from a serious knee injury suffered in last season's Rose Bowl, and each week there seems to be a possibility he will return to action. But so far he has not played in a game.

Cover photo of Utah's Cole Bishop by Rob Gray, USA TODAY Sports

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