College Football Predictions: Utah State vs. BYU Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Wednesday, 28 September 2011 20:23

Check out our predictions and preview for Friday’s college football game between Utah State and BYU.

The Utah State Aggies (1-2) have been a bit of a surprise this season, and our college football preview will let you know if they’ll be able to pull the upset against the BYU Cougars (2-2) on Friday.  The Utah State vs. BYU game is set to be shown live on ESPN, and start time is set for 8:00 PM ET.

BYU had a nice 14-13 road win to start the season against Mississippi before falling 16-17 to Texas and 10-54 to Utah.  The Cougars rebounded with a 24-17 win against a strong Central Florida team last time out, and will be looking for their 2nd straight home win of the season when they take on Utah State.  The Aggies nearly pulled off a huge upset as 24-point underdogs in their week 1 38-42 loss at Auburn before grabbing a 54-17 victory against Weber State.  The Aggies dropped a 34-35 game against Colorado State most recently and it’s tough to know what to make of this squad.

Utah State is averaging 42.0 points and 316.0 rushing yards per game, and this offense is going to score quite a few points this season.  The BYU defense is allowing 25.2 points and 344.2 total yards per game, but those statistics have to be taken with a grain of salt since they’ve played some excellent teams this year.  I believe that the BYU defense is a very good unit and that they’ll be able to slow down the Aggies quite a bit.

BYU quarterback Jake Heaps (855 yards, 55.0%, 3 TD, 5 INT) really needs to cut down on the poor decisions if the Cougars’ offense wants to beat legitimate defenses.  Heaps will likely have to carry the offensive load here since Utah State’s defense is allowing just 2.3 yards per carry.  The Cougars have ran for just 2.5 a carry this season and it is going to be interesting to see if they can run the ball successfully.  Utah State is allowing just 269.7 total yards per game, but at the same time is giving up 31.3 points on average.  The Aggies have turned the ball over and given their opponents short drives which helps the defensive yardage statistics look more impressive than they are in actuality.

Utah State pulled the 31-16 upset at home in last year’s game, and the Aggies have covered the point spread against BYU in 3 straight meetings.  The Cougars won 35-17 in 2009 when BYU was at home, and they’ll be 7.5-point favorites at 5Dimes Sportsbook for the 2011 college football meeting.  Bet on the Utah State vs. BYU game with 5Dimes Sportsbook and receive a 50% cash bonus just for clicking our link to sign-up!

I believe that Utah State’s offense is a strong group that can put up some points here, but ultimately they are going against a defense that is extremely talented and at home.  The Aggies’ inability to take care of the ball will set BYU up with some short fields, and I expect the Cougars to convert on their chances.  Utah State’s defense is overrated and I think BYU gets some revenge for their blowout loss to Utah against another interstate rival.

Utah State vs. BYU Score Predictions:

Utah State 17

BYU 34