Utah early favorites over Houston: Latest college football betting odds

The Cougars are licking their wounds after getting blown out by Kansas

Houston enters its Big 12 matchup vs. Utah as one of the worst offensive teams in college football. / William Purnell-Imagn Images

Willie Fritz and the Houston Cougars thought they had turned a corner after a 30-19 Big 12 victory over TCU on Oct. 4.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Zeon Chriss sparked a struggling offense, throwing for 141 yards and rushing for 97 - including an electric 71-yard touchdown run.

Coming into Saturday's game at Kansas, the Cougars were feeling confident.

Then it all fell apart.

Chriss exited the game after the second series because of a hamstring injury. Donovan Smith took over and threw three interceptions. And Kansas rolled up 470 yards of offense to run away with a demoralizing 42-14 victory.

Now Houston has to quickly regroup to face a wounded Utah team. The Utes have lost three consecutive games and are starting a true freshman at quarterback in place of injured seventh-year senior Cam Rising who is out for the season.

Despite Utah's recent struggles, the early betting odds favor the Utes. Just don't expect it to be a high-scoring game. Utah is favored by 3.5 points, with an over/under of 37.5. That means oddsmakers are expecting a score in the ballpark of 20-17.

Houston comes into the game with the worst scoring offense (statistically) in major college football. The Cougars are only averaging 13.7 points per game. The only team below them is Kennesaw State at 13.0.

Utah is averaging 24.0 points on the season, but just 12.0 points in its last three games. Something has to give.

Here are the early betting odds for the Utah at Houston Big 12 football matchup on Oct. 26:

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Utah at Houston Betting Odds

Game Time: Saturday, 6 p.m. CT (ESPN+)

Moneyline: Utah -170, Houston +140

Spread: Utah -3.5 (-110)

Over/Under: 37.5