Utah St at BYU – College Football Predictions
The Game
Don’t go to bed early on Friday night because there is an under-the-radar game that should be fun to watch. It’s an underrated rivalry game, but believe us, any time a pair of teams from Utah go head-to-head you better hide the men, women, children, others and undecideds. BYU has a 3-2 mark and can boast a huge win over Wisconsin on the road. Utah St is 3-1 with their only loss coming vs Sparty on the road in week one. They could be the best team in the Mountain West (including Boise).
The Details
BYU -2.5 Utah St 54
MEGALOCKS LINE – Utah St -1
“Vegas” Implied Projected Score: BYU 28.25 Utah St 25.75
The Match-Up:
BYU offense vs Utah St defense
The Cougars have been anemic on offense this season and have been outgained in every game vs an FBS opponent since their opening week game vs Arizona. They only have THREE TD passes all season (same as Army) and have a rushing attack that can be best described as “grinding”. Their only proven RB Squally Canada is less than 100% as we go to press. Receiving group? There are just three players on their team with more than 100 receiving yards. They take care of the football and wait for other teams to make mistakes. Utah St is #1 (!) in the Mountain West in yards per play defense (4.30) and #8 in the FBS. They are ranked #100 vs the run but have played one of their four games vs Air Force. It’s hard to imagine BYU doing much on offense without the help of short fields due to turnovers and/or cheating refs. Possible, sure.
Utah St offense vs BYU defense
The Aggies run a balanced offense (#55 rushing, #28 passing) and will be a handful for the Cougars to defend. The RB combo of Gerold Bright and Darwin Thompson has been lethal averaging 7.2 and 9.5 yards per carry respectively. BYU has a decent defense but they are sure to get gashed multiple times. QB Jordan Love does a good job managing the offense and is completing 67% of his passes with a mediocre 5-3 TD to INT ratio. The good news? Utah St has 17 rushing TDs as a team and prefer to kick your teeth in as opposed to going over the top of the defense. BYU is ranked #49 in defense but fail to get much PENETRATION (6 sacks in five games) and rely on opposing teams to fumble, throw interceptions and/or take penalties. It’s also interesting to note that BYU is ranked #93 in 3rd down conversion defense.
Trends, Intangibles and More!
Utah St beat BYU straight up as a 20-point underdog in a MEGALOCKS 900,000 STAR TWITTER DONATION GUY FOR HANDICAPPED SQUIRRELS BUT REALLY FOR MY GAMBLING DEBTS BECAUSE I SUCK ASS LASER LOCK winner back in 2014……BYU won at home in 2016…..Utah St beat BYU last season in Logan by a score of 40-24…..Bottom line?….The better team usually wins these games. Shocker.
Summary
BYU is tougher than a $3 steak. Any team that can beat Wisconsin on the road has to grab your attention. Statistically speaking it’s hard to make a case for the Cougars as the Aggies have more talent and more players that can score actual touchdowns.
Anything can happen, and it often does, but we will take the better team catching a few points.
Conclusion
Official play: Utah St +2.5 (+3 is available as we go to press)