No. 9 BYU will take its undefeated season and perfect record to Salt Lake City this Saturday when the Cougars take on rival Utah inside Rice-Eccles Stadium.
BYU and Utah are meeting for the 102nd or 96th time — depending which school you ask — with the Utes leading the overall series 62-35-4 according to their records, while BYU has the series at 59-32-4.
BYU won the last matchup between both programs as the Cougars ended a 9-game losing streak in the series with a 26-17 victory at LaVell Edwards Stadium. The Cougars look to keep the streak going and also look to end another as BYU has not won at Rice-Eccles Stadium since 2006. Read on to see why I believe BYU is poised to beat Utah and end it’s 18-year road losing streak in the rivalry.
Holy War: Why I Painted A BYU-Utah Football Field In My Backyard
Viewing Information
Date: Saturday, November 9
Time: 8:15 a.m. MT
TV: ESPN
Announcers: Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Stormy Buonantony
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium (51,444) — Salt Lake City, Utah
All-Time Results
Utah leads the overall series in the Holy War, although both programs disagree when the first game in the series was played. Utah claims the first game was played in 1896 against Brigham Young Academy (BYA). Meanwhile, BYU claims the series started in 1922 when the Cougars started its football program.
According to Utah: 62-35-4
According to BYU: 59-32-4
Betting Lines
The Spread: BYU -3.0
Money Line: BYU -160, Utah +140
Over/Under: 40.5
When betting lines first opened before the start of the season, Utah was a 17-point favorite. A lot has changed in three months as Utah — which was projected to win the conference, is currently near the bottom. Meanwhile, BYU, which was projected to be near the bottom, is leading the conference. As of now, the line has BYU favored by three points against the Utes.
The over/under opened at 50.5 before the season and currently stands at 40.5. It was at 42 but has come down over the past couple of days. In regards to the money line, oddsmakers are favoring BYU at -160 with Utah at +140. The money line simply involves picking the winning team. With BYU at -160, those picking the Cougars would have to risk $160 to win $100. However, for those picking the Utes, one would win $140 for his/her $100 wager.
SP+, a predictive analytics tool created by ESPN’s Bill Connelly, has BYU beating Utah 25-23. So far this year, SP+ is 6-2 in its BYU picks. Bill gives BYU a 54% chance of beating the Utes, which is a bit lower than ESPN’s Football Power Index. As of right now, the FPI gives BYU a 59.5% chance of beating Utah.
Epic showdowns: The greatest games in the BYU-Utah football rivalry
BYU vs. Utah Preview
Throw out the records because Saturday’s in-state showdown between No. 9 BYU (8-0) and Utah (4-4) will likely be another classic game between both programs as the Cougars are favored by just three points. Coincidence? I think not as the last four games at Rice-Eccles have been decided by an average of three points.
While not every game over the past three decades has come down to the wire, most of them have with 19 of the last 26 games between the Utes and the Cougars being decided by one possession.
BYU and Utah are also facing off as conference rivals for the first time since 2010 when they were both members of the Mountain West Conference. The Cougars look to stay undefeated and maintain a one-game lead atop the Big 12 standings, in addition to staying alive in the CFP playoff race. A victory for the Utes would end a four-game slide and put them a step closer to becoming bowl-eligible with three games remaining after this.
If Utah wants to pull off an upset at home, they are going to need some offense as the Utes have averaged just 12.5 points per game over the past four games. That’s certainly not going to cut it, especially against a BYU offense that is second in the Big 12 in points per game (35.1). The Cougars have also scored 30+ points in 6 straight games. The last time the Cougars scored 30+ in seven straight games was during the 1996 season in which the Cougars went 14-1 and finished the year ranked No. 5 in the country.
BYU aims to end 18-year drought against Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium
Not only will Utah need to score points, it’s going to have to do so against a BYU defense that is ranked third in the Big 12 in points per game (19.6). The Cougar defense is very opportunistic as BYU has generated 18 takeaways through eight games, including 14 interceptions. Of those, 11 different players have made an interception for BYU with Isaiah Glasker, Tanner Wall, and Jakob Robinson leading the way with two apiece. Utah will need to take care of the ball as the Utes have thrown 12 interceptions, tied for last in the Big 12.
Utes coach Kyle Whittingham reopened the quarterback competition during the bye week between Isaac Wilson and Brandon Rose. Neither Wilson nor Rose was effective in moving the chains in a loss to Houston two weeks ago. Whoever starts will need to be efficient and minimize mistakes against a tough BYU defense.
For BYU, the Cougars need to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and not turn the ball over. That has been a big issue over the past decade which is why Utah has won 8 out of the past 9 games. The Utes have been able to get a plethora of Pick-6s in the rivalry game over the years, and Whittingham knows how to get his guys ready.
If BYU can establish the running game early, that will allow quarterback Jake Retzlaff to pick apart the Utah secondary with so many playmakers at the receiver position. The sophomore also has a chance to join elite company as he’s passed for a touchdown and ran for a touchdown in each of his past two games. With another passing and rushing touchdown on Saturday, the dual-threat quarterback will join Zach Wilson and Jaren Hall who have each had a 3-game streak with multiple passing and rushing touchdowns.
Even better for BYU is that the top two running backs in LJ Martin and Hinckley Ropati are fully healthy and offer a dangerous one-two punch in the backfield. Martin had back-to-back 100-yard games against Oklahoma State and UCF. Ropati is averaging 7.0 yards per carry over his last three contests.
Epic showdowns: The greatest games in the BYU-Utah football rivalry
Prediction: BYU 27, Utah 17
BYU looks to go 9-0 for just the fifth time in program history. There’s also a lot more at stake with College Football Playoff implications as well as playing in the Big 12 title game.
For Utah, they looked like the team to beat at the start of the season, however, without senior quarterback Cam rising, the Ute offense has taken a big step back under Isaac Wilson. The freshman has thrown just 8 touchdowns and 8 interceptions and has been sacked 14 times. It’s likely that Whittingham will play both quarterbacks on Saturday and go with whoever is moving the ball better.
Oddsmakers are expecting a close game based on history, but when you compare both programs at the moment, Utah isn’t close to BYU. Yes, it will be Utah’s Super Bowl and they’ve had two weeks to game plan which will likely include some trick plays to help the offense out. That will keep the Utes in it, but I don’t see them controlling the line of scrimmage or the game.
I think the Cougars will win by double digits, similar to how the game went in 2021. Oddsmakers have been wrong on the Cougars the entire year and I expect that to continue.
For Cougar fans, you can bet that players and coaches will use that disrespect with the No. 9 ranking by the playoff committee to come out swinging and make a statement against a rival and end the Rice-Eccles 18-year curse. BYU plays better with the disrespect and they certainly got plenty of that on Tuesday. While players or coaches don’t typically talk about it, Retzlaff has mentioned it in a number of national interviews that the team feeds off that disrespect.
No matter what happens Saturday night, you know it’s going to be an intense game, filled with the best uniform combos in all of college football. There’s nothing like the Holy War and I can hardly wait.
Holy War: Why I Painted A BYU-Utah Football Field In My Backyard
