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After a hard-fought three-point road win against Oklahoma State, it appeared that Utah was well on its way to posting a strong record for the College Football Playoff.

However, after that game on home soil, the Utes were beaten by Arizona and fell from No. 10 to No. 16 in the AP poll.

On Friday, Utah takes on Arizona State, 4-1, one of the Big 12's biggest midseason upsets.

The Utes enter the race as 4.5-point away favorites, one point less than the opening line. The over/under is 45. Here is our prediction and tip for the game.

Utah vs Arizona State odds

Utah vs Arizona State prediction

Utah quickly went from being a strong contender for a CFP spot after picking up a win on the road against No. 14 Oklahoma State to a team that had its back against the wall midway through the season.

Unfortunately for the Utes, their win over OSU has lost value as the Cowboys lost their last two games to Kansas State and West Virginia.

To keep its CFP hopes alive, Utah may not be able to afford to lose on Friday, especially with BYU, Iowa State and a suddenly resurgent Colorado team still on the schedule.

Although the Utes have been hit by injuries, particularly to quarterback Cam Rising, they will still be held to a high standard when the selection committee has to make its decision.

So what's the status in Week 7 for Rising, who hasn't played since injuring his finger against Baylor on September 7? Finally we have an answer: He's playing.

This is great news for the Utes because Rising is a game-changing player. Unsurprisingly, Utah became a somewhat one-dimensional offense in Rising's absence with true freshman Isaac Wilson taking center stage.

Wilson had thrown more interceptions (7) than touchdowns (6), allowing opposing defenses to consistently apply pressure on the pass rush and stack the box.

The strategy worked, as Utah had the 83rd best running grade in the country, according to Pro Football Focus. That would have been unthinkable at the start of the season.

With “Rising Back” everything changes. He's one of the best and most experienced quarterbacks in the country (eighth-best running grade for QBs in 2022, 36th-best offensive grade according to PFF), so his presence should elevate the Utes offense from a one-dimensional, down-to-earth quarterback. Reliable attack on a balanced force.

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Choice between Utah and Arizona State

While Arizona State has held its opponents to the 11th-fewest rushing yards per game and 11th-fewest yards per rushing attempt this season, the Sun Devils' competition has been mediocre, with a schedule strength of 59 through the first six weeks.

The Utes are a fringe top 10 team in the country with Rising under center and should be in a fantastic position to bounce back after a double-digit loss at home to Arizona.

Pick: Utah -5.5 (-105, Caesars)

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Andrew Norton hinders the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he achieved an outstanding 14.1% ROI by cashing in 60% of his NBA spread picks and led Tallysight in the SportsIQ metric.