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The No. 19 Utah Utes open up their 2009 season tonight in Salt Lake City against in state rival Utah State. The two teams will kick things off at 9:00pm ET at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Utes, which have not lost a game since November of 2007, are listed as huge -20.5 against the spread favorite in SBGglobal.com's Utah State vs Utah College Football Picks, Predictions & Odds.

Head Coach Kyle Whittingham presided over a perfect 13-0 squad last year as his Utes earned a Mountain West championship and shocking 31-17 Sugar Bowl win over No. 4 Alabama. Utah averaged 36.9 points and 401 yards per game while limiting their opposition to 17.2 points and 289 yards per contest.

Twelve starters and 54 lettermen from last season's undefeated team are back, but the losses include quarterback Brian Johnson and top receivers Freddie Brown, Brent Casteel, and Bradon Godfrey.

Taking over for Johnson, who threw for 2972 yards and 27 touchdowns last year, is junior college pickup Terrance Cain. Cain should be a comparable replacement as he earned NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year honors a season ago, throwing for 3138 yards.

Cain will have the luxury of top rusher Matt Asiata occupying the backfield again as well as having a solid, experienced offensive line in place. 

The Utah defense has seven starters back, including most of the members of a talented front seven. The secondary has good depth, but may take a step back with cornerbacks Sean Smith and Brice McCain moving on to the NFL.

Utah State returns 16 starters and 48 lettermen from last season's 3-9 squad. They do, however, have a new head coach in Gary Andersen, who takes over for Brent Guy. Andersen should be familiar with the Utes having served as assistant coach and defensive coordinator at Utah for the last five seasons.

The Aggies offense posted pedestrian numbers last year, averaging 24 points and 334 yards per game. Nine starters are back for new coordinator Dave Baldwin, though, including quarterback Diondre Borel. Borel threw for 1705 yards last year and also led the team in rushing with 632 yards (five touchdowns).

Utah State's defense, which yielded 34.7 points per game last year, welcomes seven starters back and should be improved as well.

The Aggies will be a more competitive bunch this year, but they will have difficulty matching Utah's talent in this evening's game. The Utes blasted them 58-10 last season and they have topped the Aggies by an average of 35.6 points per game over the last five years.

SBGglobal.com Utah State vs Utah College Football Picks, Predictions & Odds:

Utah State Aggies +20.5 (-110), Over 52 (-110)

Utah Utes -20.5 (-110), Under 52 (-110)

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