Utah vs. BYU Free College Football Picks for Week 2

The Utah Utes have what it takes to beat the BYU Cougars in Saturday’s Holy War matchup – but can they beat the college football odds?

Utah Utes vs. Brigham Young Cougars

Saturday, September 11, 2021 – 10:15 PM EDT at LaVell Edwards Stadium

The Holy War is upon us. Saturday’s college football lines include one of the biggest rivalries in sports; the BYU Cougars will host the No. 21 Utah Utes, and while they no longer reside in the same conference, they still play almost every year – and the Utes usually win. They’re on a nine-game streak at 6-3 ATS, all but one of those victories coming since Utah’s move to the Pac-12 in 2011.

We think they’re going to do it again. At press time, the Utes are 7-point road faves on the NCAAF odds board at Heritage, just as they were at the open – although Utah did briefly dip to –6.5 in early betting. Good work if you got them at that price. Jeff Sagarin’s “Overall” projection at The USA Today have the Utes winning by 8.27 points, so crossing the magic number 7 to bag them at –6.5 would have been worth at least a small bet, maybe more.

A Tough Act to Follow

At least we’ll still get a push with our college football picks if the Utes win by exactly seven. But the Cougars needed a lot more points when they met two years ago; Utah took the last Holy War 30-12 as 5-point road faves. Things will be a bit different this time around, especially at quarterback, where it will be Charlie Brewer throwing for Utah opposite Jaren Hall – BYU’s first-ever black starting QB. Hall has some big cleats to fill. He takes over for Zach Wilson, who was scooped up by the New York Jets with the second overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. This is obviously a downgrade for BYU, although Hall did see some action two years ago while Wilson was out with a thumb injury. The offensive line in front of Hall is also thinner having lost Brady Christensen (third round, Carolina Panthers) to the NFL.

Brewer’s Feast

Meanwhile, Brewer comes to Utah after four years starting for the Baylor Bears, where he got to play in the 2020 Sugar Bowl. Brewer figures to be an instant upgrade on Jake Bentley, who transferred to South Alabama after a so-so 2020 campaign; Brewer also gets to play behind an offensive line that returns all its starters from last year. Given how strong Utah’s defense already is, Brewer could wind up playing in another Big Six bowl to wrap up his college career.

Saturday’s forecast for Provo looks quite lovely, so the Utes won’t have to worry about the weather conditions getting in between them and the Cougars. And those NCAAF lines may be selling Utah just a bit short, given their No. 20 position on the preseason F/+ Ratings at Football Outsiders. BYU checked in at No. 26, though, and both teams went 1-0 SU and 0-1 ATS in Week 1, so let’s keep that bet size small, and may the prolate spheroid be with you.

NCAAF Pick: Utah -7 (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)

Utah -7 (-108)

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*The pick reflects the line at the moment the writer made the play, the odds at the beginning of this article show the live line movement. Since the lines might vary, don’t forget to refer back to our live odds.

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