Utah Utes vs Baylor Bears Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/09/2023

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Saturday, September 9, 2023

Venue:  McLane Stadium, Waco, TX

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Utah -7.5, Baylor +7.5; Over/Under:  47.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Utah -7, Baylor +7; Over/Under:  47.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Utah -7, Baylor +7; Over/Under:  47.5 points

Utah Utes:  1-0 (0-0) (11th place, Pac-12)

Baylor Bears:  0-1 (0-0) (13th place, Big 12)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Amedeus Mastrangelo is on a HOT STREAK in CFB coming off a MASSIVE 9-2 CFB WEEKEND! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Utah Utes:  won their last game at home against the Florida Gators 24-11.

Baylor Bears:  lost their last game at home against the Texas State Bobcats 42-31.

Utah is entering this game with a 1-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 1-0 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 Florida 24-11. Bryson Barnes was the starting QB and he completed 12/18 passes for 159 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Nate Johnson led the team in rushing yards with 45 and 1 TD. Money Parks led the receivers with 70 receiving yards on 1 reception and 1 TD. Cole Bishop led the defense in that game with 9 solo tackles and 2 assisted tackles while Cole Bishop led the defense in sacks with 2. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

 

 

 

Baylor is entering this game with a 0-1 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too.  They are 0-1 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 lost their last game against Texas State 42-31. Blake Shapen was the starting QB and he completed 21/31 passes for 303 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Dominic Richardson led the team in rushing yards with 79. Drake Dabney led the receivers with 101 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 2 TDs. Mike Smith Jr. led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while Devonte Tezino led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that game.

The current betting odds have Utah listed as a 7.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Utah opened their season with a big win at home against Florida but now they are playing their 1st road game of the season. They will likely still be missing their starting QB in Cam Rising but luckily for them, Baylor lost their 1st game of the season at home to a Sun Belt team Texas State. That was a game that Baylor shouldn't have lost and their defense was terrible, letting Texas State score over 40 points in that one. Utah only put up 24 points at home in their last game but they still looked good with their backup QB on offense and they have a lot more talent on their team than Baylor does. Now that their backup QB has a game under his belt he will be a lot better in this game and will be able to move the ball against this bad Baylor defense that got gashed last week. The best way to place a bet here is on Utah to cover the spread in this game. 

Utah Baylor Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 9, 2023 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Utah 35 Baylor 20.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Utah Utes Baylor Bears prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

Utah Utes: 19-29 ATS as a road favorite of 7 points or less. 4-8 ATS in road games. 22-8 UNDER after allowing 325 or more passing yards in their last game. 8-4 UNDER after playing a game at home.

Baylor Bears: 9-3 ATS as an underdog. 10-4 ATS in home games. 18-4 UNDER after a home game where both teams score 31 or more points. 12-4 UNDER as a home underdog of 7 points or less.

Utah Utes:  C. Rising (QB) day-to-day - Knee. B. Rose (QB) day-to-day - Undisclosed. B. Kuithe (TE) day-to-day - Knee.

Baylor Bears:  D. Lemear (S) Out indefinitely - Elbow.

“I don’t know if that’s indicative of what to expect with the new rules now because that game, there wasn’t a lot of snaps and so I guess if they were trying to tone that down, they accomplished their objective.” - Kyle Whittingham on the new clock rules after his team’s win against Florida in their last game.

"So much of it is we preach that and we try to be in position to not beat ourselves and I just felt that I failed to do that. I failed to put the team in the best position to do that, and that’s a hard take to have. But I think it’s one that for sure showed up tonight. I thought the guys gave valid efforts." - Dave Aranda after his team’s loss against Texas State in their last game.

WR Parks, Money 

WR Vele, Devaughn

WR Pittman, Mycah

TE Yassmin, Thomas 

TE Kuithe, Brant 

QB Barnes, Bryson 

RB Jackson, Ja'Quinden

WR Jackson Jr., Ketron 

WR Cameron, Josh 

WR Baldwin, Monaray 

TE Dabney, Drake 

QB Shapen, Blake 

RB Reese, Richard 

Passing: B. Barnes (159)

Rushing: M. Bernard (45)

Receiving: M. Parks (70)

Touchdowns: N. Johnson (1)

Passing: B. Shapen (303)

Rushing: D. Richardson (79)

Receiving: D. Dabney (101)

Touchdowns: D. Dabney (2)

Coaches:

Utah Utes: Kyle Whittingham (20th season)

Baylor Bears: Dave Aranda (4th season)