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Sugar Bowl: Utah vs. Alabama Football Picks

Written January 1, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Alabama Utah Football

One of the more intriguing bowl games this postseason comes in the way of the No.4 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide taking on the undefeated No.7 ranked Utah Utes in the Sugar Bowl. The Tide were nearly perfect this season, as the only loss they have suffered all season came in the SEC Championship game against the Florida Gators. As for the Utes they finished off one of the best seasons in school history going 12-0 in their way to winning a pretty tough Mountain West Conference, but were not rewarded with a shot at the National Championship because their conference just isn’t strong enough to compare to the likes of the SEC, Big 10, ACC, Big East, and Big 12. For those of you looking to do some college football betting on the big game this Friday, the oddsmakers have Alabama 9 point favorites over Utah at BetUS.com.

Taking a looking at the Utes offense, there is no question that the play of quarterback Brian Johnson is the reason this team is where it is today. Johnson was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the year after completing 68% of his attempts for 2,636 yards with 24 touchdowns to just 9 interceptions. Johnson’s favorite target was Freddie Johnson who led the Utes with65 catches for 775 yards and 7 scores. The Utes also had success running the football as they used the duo of Matt Asiata and Darrell Mack to run over opposing teams this season. Asiata ran for a team best 678 yards and 11 touchdowns but got solid help from Mack who ran for 533 yards and 3 more rushing scores.

The Utes bring a pretty solid defense to the matchup this Friday, as they come in allowing opponents just 17 points a game, and while they are good both against the run and the pass, they are much better against the run allowing just 105 yards a game on the ground. This unit also has the ability to make the big play, as the Utes forced 28 turnovers this season, and wound up with the 16th best turnover margin in the country. The players to watch for Utes on this side of the ball are Paul Kruger and Sean Smith. Kruger not only leads the team in tackles for loss with 15.5 and sacks with 7.5, he also has 7 pass breakups, while Smith leads the team in interceptions with 5. Bet Utah Utes +9 at BetUS.com.

The Crimson Tide will have to make up for not having one of their best players on the offensive side of things, as head coach Nick Saban has suspended the outstanding offensive tackle Andre Smith due to a violation of team rules. This means quarterback John Parker Wilson will have to keep an extra eye out for opposing defenders, as Smith was a sure lock to beat his guy. Wilson wasn’t amazing throwing the football, as he had just 2,096 yards with 9 touchdowns to 6 interceptions, and its a wonder what it would of been like had the Tide not landed freshman wideout Julio Jones, who led the Tide with 51 catches for 847 yards and 4 scores. But where this team is at its best is one the ground where Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram wear opposing defenses down. Coffee ran it 220 times for 1,347 yards with 10 scores, while Ingram came in and pounded out 702 and 12 touchdowns of his one.

The reason the Tide were atop the college football polls for so long this season, was the play of their defense. The Tide held opponents to just 13 points a game and were outstanding both against the run and the pass, as they only allowed 257 total yards of offense a game. The unit posted the 4th best run defense allowing just 79 yards a game on the ground, and while that is a big time stat the pass defense is going to be the part of this defense that is tested in this one. This unit is outstanding at getting into opponents backfields and tackling the opposing runner for a loss, but all that pressure has only transfered into 24 sacks, and pressure is what this team needs to keep the Utes offense in check. Bet Alabama Crimson Tide -9 at BetUS.com.

Lowry’s Lean on the Game: Alabama -9
The Utes have had one heck of a season, but I honestly don’t think they stand much of a chance in this one, as the Tide are just to strong on both sides of the football. I look for Alabama to pound it out on the ground and their defense to simply dominate the Utes in this one.

Predicted Score: Alabama 27 Utah 13

Check out the latest NCAA football odds and grab the best college football picks from our experts at Betfirms.

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1 Comment

Comments

One Response to “Sugar Bowl: Utah vs. Alabama Football Picks”

trae on January 2nd, 2009 7:41 pm

IM PRETTY SURE UTAH IS A HEAD 14-0 SO WHO EVER DID THIS WAS A DUMBASS AND UTAH IS GOING TO KEEP KICKING ASS!!!!!

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