One of the better rivalries in college football, despite the relative lack of attention, the Holy War will be back for the 101st time as the Utah Utes travel to Provo to take on the BYU Cougars.
Utah will look to make their name known as a dark horse in the Pac-12 this season as they return 18 starters under the strong coaching of Kyle Whittingham.
BYU won’t back down from any Power 5 foe, as they’ll look to make it 2-0 against the Pac-12 to start the season. Check out our Utah vs BYU picks for Saturday, September 11.
Utah vs BYU odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Utah opened as a favorite of between -5.5 and -6.5, depending on the book. That line has moved and the Utes currently stand as a 7-point favorite as of the time of this writing.
Be sure to check out the full college football odds before placing your bets, and also view the full line movement for this game.
Utah vs BYU picks
Picks made on 9/9/2021 at 7:45 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Utah vs BYU game info
• Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
• Date: Saturday, September 11, 2021
• Time: 10:15 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
Utah vs BYU betting preview
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key injuries
Utah: RJ Hubert S (out)
BYU: Samson Nacua WR (probable), Puka Nacua WR (probable), Gunner Romney WR (doubtful), Keenan Ellis WR (doubtful), Kody Epps WR (doubtful)
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Utah is 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games on the road against BYU. Find more NCAA betting trends for Utah vs. BYU.
Utah vs BYU predictions
Utah -7 (-110)
The Utes hold a significant experience advantage in this matchup, as they return 18 starters compared to only 11 for BYU.
One player that does not count toward the returning starters number is starting quarterback Charlie Brewer, who has 45 games of college experience under his belt. 2020 was expected to be a down year for the Utes, but 2021 is supposed to be one of their stronger years, given the experience coming together at the right time.
Cincinnati transfer Tavion Thomas appears to be the leader of a running back-by-committee approach for a Utah offense that has rushed for over 180 yards per game in three straight seasons. The defense should be one of the nation’s best, led by linebacker Devin Lloyd, who had 12 tackles – 2 for a loss – and an interception in the opener.
They’ll do battle with a BYU team that was outgained 426 to 368 in total yardage battle by Arizona. Even though the Cougars came away with the victory, it wasn’t exactly an awe-inspiring performance against a Wildcat defense that allowed 473 yards per game a season ago.
The Cougar offense will need some time to gel after losing star performers in quarterback Zach Wilson and receiver Dax Milne from a season ago. A defense that returns only 4 starters allowed 345 passing yards to an Arizona team breaking in a new scheme and a new quarterback.
This is a game in which the Utes appear to hold the upper hand. Playing as the road team should not be a concern, as they’ve covered in five straight games at Provo. We’re looking for Charlie Brewer to have a nice game against a beatable Cougars secondary, the run game to be its usual efficient self, and the defense to stifle a green BYU offense.
BYU team total Under 20.5 (-110)
I’m concerned about this BYU offense breaking in so many new playmakers and a new quarterback in Jaren Hall. The case can also be made that they’re breaking in a new offensive coordinator, which is technically true, but Aaron Roderick has been heavily involved in the offense previously and isn’t changing the scheme.
Still, there are a lot of new faces, and it doesn’t help that leading returning wide receiver Gunner Romney left the Arizona game with an injury and was seen heading to the locker room on crutches. The two Nacua brothers (Puka and Samson, both transfers) are also less than 100 percent up-to-speed after playing sparingly a week ago.
This Utah defense is not the team to face early in the season to work out the kinks. They allowed only 19.4 points per game in 2018 and 15.0 in 2019, their last two full seasons from which to pull data. Sure, they dipped to 26.0 points per game allowed in 2020, but that was in only four games while fielding almost a completely new defense.
This Utah defense has been reliable for years now, and they get a matchup here with an inexperienced and unproven team in a rivalry game. We’re taking BYU’s team total under, as we expect them to struggle to put points on the board.
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