College Football Predictions: Utah vs. BYU Preview

Written by Jake Thompson
Saturday, 17 September 2011 01:11

Our Utah vs. BYU preview will figure out college football score predictions in the 2011 edition of the Holy War.

The annual college football rivalry game between the Utah Utes (1-1) and the BYU Cougars (1-1) is set for Saturday at 9:15 PM ET, and we hope that our preview will help everyone look smart with their predictions.  Utah won 17-16 at home last year with BYU winning 26-23 in overtime the year before.  The Utah vs. BYU winner has been at home for each of the past 4 years and none of the 3 road upsets since 2003 have been decided by more than 3 points in regulation.

Utah opened up their season with a 27-10 win against Montana State before almost pulling an outright upset in a 14-23 loss at USC.  BYU pulled an improbable comeback to take out Mississippi 14-13 in their opener before coming up just short in a 16-17 road loss to Texas.  Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn (339 yards, 55.1%, 3 TD, 1 INT) has been the better quarterback so far in this game, with BYU starter Jake Heaps (417 yards, 59.2%, 2 TD, 3 INT) being a bit inaccurate.

The Cougars are favored by 3.5 points on the spread odds at 5Dimes Sportsbook after they opened up at -6.5.  The underdog has covered the point spread in 11 of the last 14, while the road team has done the same in 11 of the last 16.  Those trends definitely favor Utah, yet close to 65% of tracked bettors are taking BYU.  Click on that link we provided to receive a 50% cash bonus for your Utah vs. BYU wagering needs!

Utah has a nice mix of run and pass, and their offense is tough to stop because they have the ability to mask what they are going to run.  The BYU defense has been strong this season, and the Utes will have to run the ball well if they want to put many points on the scoreboard.

The Cougars have produced a decent passing attack, but their running game has been almost nonexistent.  Part of that can be attributed to them facing some excellent defenses, but it also should be pointed out that Utah’s defensive line is another strong unit for BYU to take on.  Heaps is really going to have to step it up and make better decisions if the home favorites want to leave with a victory.

Our Utah vs. BYU preview has uncovered a few things, the first of which is that this isn’t going to be a high-scoring game.  These defenses are very good and I believe we’ll see plenty of punts in an attempt to set up field position in the 2011 Holy War.  This bodes well for the road underdog Utes, and I personally think that Utah might just be a stronger team.  Our Utah vs. BYU predictions will call for the outright upset to happen in a game that won’t be that entertaining to watch unless you are a lover of defensive dominance.

Utah vs. BYU Score Predictions:

Utah 20

BYU 17