BYU Cougars vs Arkansas Razorbacks Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/16/2023

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 16, 2023

Venue:  Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, AR

Where to Watch:  ESPN2

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  BYU +8.5, Arkansas -8.5; Over/Under:  47.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  BYU +8, Arkansas -8; Over/Under:  47.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  BYU +7.5, Arkansas -7.5; Over/Under:  47.5 points

BYU Cougars:  2-0 (0-0) (7th place, Big 12)

Arkansas Razorbacks:  2-0 (0-0) (2nd place, SEC West)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Sean Murphy is on a HOT STREAK in CFB with a 10-3 start this season! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

BYU Cougars:  won their last game at home against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds 41-16.

Arkansas Razorbacks:  won their last game at home against the Kent State Golden Flashes 28-6.

BYU is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 2-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Southern Utah 41-16. Kedon Slovis was the starting QB and he completed 22/32 passes for 348 passing yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. LJ Martin led the team in rushing yards with 27. Isaac Rex led the receivers with 112 receiving yards on 4 receptions and 1 TD. Ethan Slade led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while no one on the defense recorded a sack in that one. Kamden Garrett came away with the only interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Arkansas is entering this game with a 2-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 2-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They won their last game against Kent State 28-6. KJ Jefferson was the starting QB and he completed 13/19 passes for 136 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. AJ Green led the team in rushing yards with 82. Isaac TeSlaa led the receivers with 51 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Jaheim Thomas led the defense in that game with 3 solo tackles and 9 assisted tackles while Jaheim Thomas and Trajan Jeffcoat each led the defense in sacks with 1.5. Antonio Grier Jr. came away with the only interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have Arkansas listed as an 8.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Arkansas only put up 28 points in their last game at home but their defense was really good as they held Kent State to just 6 points. Arkansas has a really good team in the SEC this season while BYU lost a lot of talent from last year and have struggled more in their first 2 games. They gained some momentum in their last game with a win at home over a team from the FCS but they barely beat Sam Houston State in their season opener as their offense let them down, putting up just 13 points in that game. They struggled to put points on the board against Sam Houston and they will struggle to put points up against this better Arkansas defense. Arkansas also has a better offense than what BYU has seen so far and they will struggle to keep up when Arkansas starts pulling away at home. The best way to place a bet here is on Arkansas to cover the spread in this game. 

BYU Arkansas Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 16, 2023 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Arkansas 31 BYU 14.

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BYU Cougars: 10-18 ATS in all games. 1-9 ATS against SEC opponents. 21-14 OVER in a road game where the total is between 42.5 and 49. 6-3 OVER off a no-cover where the team won as a favorite. 8-4 OVER after playing a game at home.

Arkansas Razorbacks: 13-6 ATS as a home favorite of 7.5 to 10 points. 15-4 ATS against Big 12 conference opponents. 18-10 OVER in all games. 11-6 OVER as a favorite. 10-5 OVER in home games.

BYU Cougars:  K. Epps (WR) Prob Sat - Hamstring. H. Ropati (RB) out for season - Knee.

Arkansas Razorbacks:  R. Sanders (RB) Out Sat - Knee. S. Mbake (WR) out for season - Knee.

“If you are talking about sacks specifically, we can be better at that. I mean, that is not sugar-coated. I like the stuff we are doing. The sacks will come. I like interceptions more than sacks.” Kalani Sitake on his defense after his team’s win against SUU in their last game. 

“Early we couldn’t throw, couldn’t catch it, couldn’t run it. Defense kept us in the game. We weren’t giving up points, but time. The game plan was going exactly how they wanted it to go minus scoring a lot of points.” - Sam Pittman after his team’s win against Kent State in their last game. 

WR Epps, Kody

WR Roberts, Chase 

WR Hill, Keanu 

TE Rex, Isaac 

QB Slovis, Kedon 

RB Robbins, Aidan

FB Fakahua, Mason 

WR Armstrong, Andrew 

WR TeSlaa, Isaac 

WR Wilson, Jaedon 

TE Hasz, Dylan 

QB Jefferson, KJ 

RB Sanders, Raheim 

Passing: K. Slovis (493)

Rushing: L. Martin (118)

Receiving: I. Rex (127)

Touchdowns: K. Slovis (3) 

Passing: K. Jefferson (382)

Rushing: A. Green (104)

Receiving: I. TeSlaa (117)

Touchdowns: A. Armstrong (3)

Coaches:

BYU Cougars: Kalani Sitake (8th season)

Arkansas Razorbacks: Sam Pittman (4th season)