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The Utah Utes put together a tremendous season to make the BCS out of the Mountain West Conference but bettors aren't buying them as nine-point underdogs against Alabama. Sugar Bowl betting could be found at Sportsbook.com - now offering a free 10 percent cash bonus when opening an account.
A whopping 76% of the support or Friday night's Sugar Bowl is backing the Alabama Crimson Tide as nine-point favorites over the Utes, who crash the BCS party for the second time in four seasons.
At 12-0, Utah is thrilled to be back in the BCS but Alabama had hopes of playing for a title before losing to Florida in the SEC title game.
Will motivation be the difference?
What mindset does Alabama bring to the Sugar Bowl? Are they angry after losing to Florida or do they have a hangover that so many unbeaten teams have after losing their championship dreams?
The Crimson Tide ended up 9-4 against the spread (ATS) this season and third in the country on defense.
Besides trying to complete a perfect season, Utah has the added pressure of trying to uphold the non-BCS schools and make people believe Hawaii just wasn't ready for the big stage last season. The Utes are 23-9 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points and can make even further noise about a playoff system with the upset.
Utah has been one the best bowl team's with a 10-3 straight up record while going 8-3 ATS.
Sugar Bowl Series Trend: In each of the past two seasons, a SEC team has taken on a BCS-crashing school in the Sugar Bowl and has throttled them, 41-14 & 41-10. Overall, the SEC has enjoyed great success in this bowl series, going 6-1 SU & 5-2 ATS in the last seven. Five of those games also went UNDER the total.
Top ATS Trend
- UTAH is 23-9 ATS (+13.1 Units) when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest since 1992. The average score was UTAH 28.9, OPPONENT 17.4 - (Rating = 1*)
Top Totals Trend
- UTAH is 15-4 UNDER (+10.6 Units) in road games off a win by 10 points or more over a conference rival since 1992. The average score was UTAH 24.8, OPPONENT 20.0 - (Rating = 1*)
Recent UTAH Bowl Game Trends
* UTAH boasts a 7-bowl game winning streak, going 5-2 ATS in that span.
* UTAH is 5-1 ATS as a bowl game underdog since '92.
* The UNDER the total is 7-2-1 in UTAH's L10 bowl games.
Recent ALABAMA Bowl Game Trends
* Alabama is just 2-5 ATS in its L7 bowl games.
* As a bowl game favorite, Alabama is 3-1 ATS in its L4.
* Alabama's L6 bowl games have been decided by 6 pts or less.
StatFox Forecaster says: ALABAMA 32, UTAH 20
Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
