Utah vs BYU Odds, Spread and Best Bet
- #21 Utah is a 7-point road favorite over BYU on Saturday night
- The Utah and BYU campuses are just 45 minutes apart
- A look at the matchup and odds can be found below along with analysis
#21 Utah visits neighbor BYU at 10:15 pm ET Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.
Both teams are coming off season-opening wins. Utah dispatched Weber State of the BCS 40-17 at home while BYU downed Arizona 24-16 in Las Vegas while failing to cover the 13.5-point spread.
The series, which pits schools just 45 minutes apart, resumes after the teams did not play in 2020 during the pandemic-affected season. Utah has beaten BYU nine straight times.
Utah vs BYU Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Utes | -290 | -7 (-110) | Over 49 (-110) |
| BYU Cougars | +230 | +7 (-110) | Under 49 (-110) |
Odds as of September 10th at DraftKings.
Utah is currently a 7-point favorite, while the game will be televised by ESPN. There is a 20% chance of showers or thunderstorms at kickoff with the temperature forecast calling for 80 degrees and wind from the west at 6 mph
Brewer Lifts Utah Offense
One of Utah coach Kyle Whittingham’s primary objectives for this season is to improve the passing game.
Graduate transfer Charlie Brewer seems to be the answer for the Utes, at least based on his performance against Weber State. Brewer completed 19 of 27 passes for 233 yards and two touchdowns while being intercepted once.
Charlie Brewer STILL HERE 🎯@Utah_Football
— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 3, 2021
Granted, that performance came against an FCS team. However, Brewer has plenty of big-time college football experience as he appeared in 44 games for Baylor from 2017-20. For the Bears, he had 9,700 yards passing and 65 TD throws in four seasons.
Another transfer, running back Tavion Thomas, also shined in his Utah debut. The Former Cincinnati back ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Utah scored on its first three drives and averaged 7.5 yards per play.
Linebacker Devin Lloyd did a little bit of everything for the Utes defense. He finished with a career-high 12 tackles, an interception, a sack, a forced fumble and two tackles for loss.
Hall Gives BYU Life After Wilson
Jaren Hall has been tasked with taking over at quarterback for Zach Wilson, who was the No. 2 pick in this year’s NFL Draft by the New York Jets.
Hall had a solid outing against Arizona as he was 18-of-28 passing for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He also proved to be a dual threat, rushing for 36 yards on five carries, including a 39-yard dash that was the longest by a BYU quarterback since Taysom Hill in 2016.
One of my favorite plays of the game.
Jaren Hall was judicious when using his feet.
The pressure from UofA after the play action, flushed him out of the pocket and he took the space vacated by the pressure up the sideline!
Jaren can scoot. pic.twitter.com/NMYAZttPvF
— Benjamin Criddle (@CriddleBenjamin) September 6, 2021
Neil Pau’u was Hall’s favorite target, catching eight passes for 126 yards and two TDs. The Cougars also showed good offensive balance with running back Tyler Allgeier racking up 94 yards rushing and a score on 17 carries.
Linebacker Keenan Pili seemed to be all over the field on defense for BYU as he had 17 tackles. He played a major role in limiting Arizona to 80 yards rushing.
All Utes Lately
Utah’s nine-game winning streak against BYU is the longest in the series history, which either stretches over 101 games or 95 games, depending on the school. Whatever the count, the game stirs plenty of emotions and traditional in the state of Utah.
What’s your Holy war traditions?Here’s ours: my family! The Gronemans from Utah County hike up round peak in Springville and out a big “U” sewn together by 14 bed sheets. Place it on the mountain side and you could see it from 15+ miles. It’s fun, it’s not harmful and Byu hate it pic.twitter.com/VP7UTa3Duf
— Colby Groneman (@colbyutahman3) September 8, 2021
The reason for the six-game discrepancy is because BYU officially began playing intercollegiate football in 1922. There were six games between the Utes and BYU Academy, a mixture of high school and college athletes, from 1896-98.
The teams split those games. Utah counts them but BYU does not.
This game is usually a battle. So, while Utah is 27-1 straight up in non-conference games since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, BYU looks like a live dog, especially with Hall showing he can ably run the offense.
The Pick: BYU +7 (-110)
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
