Cincinnati vs Utah Prediction, Picks & Line for Saturday Night College Football

• The Utah Utes are 10.5-point home favorites against the Cincinnati Bearcats
• Cincinnati has reeled off seven wins in a row
• See below for my Cincinnati vs Utah prediction, picks and line

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Two teams jockeying atop the Big 12 collide when the 17th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats (7-1, 5-0 Big 12) hit the road to take on the 24th-ranked Utah Utes (6-2, 3-2 Big 12).

Cincinnati is one of two teams still undefeated in Big 12 Conference play, but they’re a big road underdog in the college football odds, as they face a Utes team that ranks second in both points per game and points allowed in the Big 12.

I believe the oddsmakers are a little too bullish on the home team, and I’ll explain why my Cincinnati vs Utah prediction rides with the underdog.

Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday night at 10:15pm ET from Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, with ESPN carrying the broadcast.

Cincinnati vs Utah Prediction

My Cincinnati vs Utah prediction is that the Bearcats keep it close. One reason for this lopsided spread is that Cincinnati won’t be at full strength, as leading rusher Evan Pryor (ankle) was injured last time out against Baylor and will be sidelined due to the injury.

That’s 478 yards and a beastly 7.2 yards per carry stuck on the sidelines. And while he will be missed, there’s enough talent to pick up the slack. Senior Tawee Walker is picking up 5.2 yards a pop and was just behind Pryor with 466 rush yards.

And don’t forget pivot Brendan Sorsby, who is averaging 6.2 yards per carry and scored seven touchdowns. The junior is doing that while also throwing for 1,843 yards passing, with 20 TD tosses against just one interception.

Sorsby has led the Bearcats to seven straight wins, including each of the last five in Big 12 action. Cincinnati has scored at least 34 points in six of its seven wins, and has won by at least eight points six times, and four by double digits.

The Utes are coming off a monster 53-7 thumping of the Colorado Buffaloes, improving to 3-2 in Big 12 play.

They enter this one perhaps with a bit of QB controversy brewing, despite what coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Incumbent Deven Dampier, who guided Utah to a 5-2 record, sat out the Colorado game with an ankle injury, but looks ready to roll Saturday.

The only problem is rookie Byrd Fricklin was outstanding in the start, throwing for 140 yards and two touchdowns, while also carrying 20 times for 151 yards and a TD.

Ficklin fits right into Utah’s devastating rush attack that averages 267.1 yards per game to go along with 24 rushing scores, both tops in the Big 12. But it appears he’ll be back on the bench if Dampier is good to go.

Either QB will have a tough defense to support them. Utah is fifth against the run, allowing just 136.6 yards, and their pass D might be even more impressive, as they allow just 148.8 air yards, and their five TD passes allowed is second only to Arizona.

Cincinnati vs Utah Pick

• Pick: Cincinnati +10.5 (-110 at FanDuel)

Based on my Cincinnati vs Utah prediction, my pick and best bet for Saturday night CFB on ESPN is Cincinnati as +10.5-point underdogs against the Utes.

Cincinnati does lots of things really well, so while they’re not at the top of many categories in the Big 12 — an impressive fifth in rushing at 193.6 yards per game stands as the outlier — the Bearcats remain as competitive as any team in the conference.

This is a school that’s recently been able to handle itself in big games. The Bearcats are 7-4-0 ATS against ranked teams since 2019, good for second-best in FBS (minimum 10 games).

Cincinnati vs Utah: Key Offensive Stats

Utah is having a good season, but there are sometimes difficulties in determining if they have real staying power or if their work on the weaker portion of their slate has inflated some of their numbers, particularly on defense.

Consider that Utah absolutely laid the wood to Cal Poly in a 63-9 blowout and crushed Colorado 53-7 last week. The Utes combined for 17 sacks in those games, and only 15 everywhere else, over the last seven weeks.

Nick Saban & @KirkHerbstreit breakdown what makes Utah’s defense so tough 💪 pic.twitter.com/YoGFI3Xtma

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) November 1, 2025

Ultimately, the level-up in competition, even in a small sample, paints the picture. Save for a 42-10 blowout win over then #21 Arizona State, Utah has been average against teams inside the Top 20.

They were dumped 34-10 by 17th-ranked Texas Tech, and most recently, they mustered just 21 points in a 3-point loss to BYU.

Cincinnati is at least on that tier, and they should be able to put enough points to take advantage of all those points.

Cincinnati vs Utah Line

The interactive table above will automatically update as the college football odds move over the course of the day.

This line started as low as Utah favored by seven points, but you can see now that the spread is into double digits, including +10.5 for the Bearcats to cover.

Utah is listed as short -370 favorites on the moneyline, though this is a team that is just 3-2 in its last five at home. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is a distant +330 to win outright.

The total can be found anywhere around 55 points to 56 points. Utah has cashed the Over in three of four, while Cincinnati has hit the Over in five of its last seven games.