Several important defensive players opted out or hit the portal after the team lost three other vital front-seven pieces to injury earlier. The Utes lost three of their final five to finish the year 8-4. Las Vegas Bowl Northwestern (+6) over Utah should be able to lean on defense while scoring enough to cover a short spread. Also, Air Force fell apart down the stretch, losing its final four games behind a regressing defense -the Falcons allowed 27 points per game during the streak.
