Baylor vs Utah Prediction, Pick and College Football Week 2 Odds — 9/7

The Baylor Bears and Utah Utes will face off at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX). The Utes are 14.5-point home favorites in a game with an over/under of 54.5 points (-110/-110).

These two teams faced off in the same week last season, with Utah pulling out a seven-point win as 7.5-point favorites. Let’s dive into my Baylor vs Utah prediction, pick and college football Week 2 odds for Saturday, September 7, including a Baylor vs Utah game preview.

Baylor vs Utah Prediction

• Baylor vs. Utah Pick: Utah -14.5

My Baylor vs Utah best bet and game preview is for Utah to cover the 14.5-point spread at home, with the best line currently available at bet365, according to our live NCAAF odds page.

Saturday, September 7

3:30 p.m. ET

FOX

Baylor Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
+14.5 -105	54.5 -110o / -110u	+550

Utah Odds
Spread	Total	Moneyline
-14.5 -115	54.5 -110o / -110u	-800

Odds via bet365. Get up-to-the-minute NCAAF odds here.

• Baylor vs Utah Point Spread: Baylor +14.5 (-105) · Utah -14.5 (-115)
• Baylor vs Utah Total: Over/Under 54.5
• Baylor vs Utah Moneyline: Baylor +500 · Utah -800

Baylor vs Utah Preview

Baylor Bears Betting Preview: Coming Off a Brutal 2023 Season

Baylor struggled mightily last season in Dave Aranda's fourth year in Waco. The Bears, who finished 3-9, were one of the worst all-around teams in the Power Five conferences, ranking 78th in SP+ on offense and 103rd on defense.

While they have plenty of returning experience this season, it will be interesting to see if the players can take a massive jump and potentially save Aranda’s job as head coach.

Jake Spavital is the new offensive coordinator after spending last year in the same position at Cal. Dequan Finn takes over at quarterback after transferring from Toledo, where he had an impressive career. The Bears have veteran starters at every offensive line spot with returners and transfers. Also returning are the team's top six rushers from last season and seven of the top nine receivers.

This could be partially due to garbage time, but Baylor last week only had a 32nd-percentile success rate against Tarleton State and had to punt multiple times in the first half. Finn posted 173 yards and two touchdowns on his 21 passing attempts but also had two interceptions and averaged -0.15 EPA per dropback.

Baylor’s defense will be in its second year under Matt Powledge. Aranda has been known to be a great defensive coach himself, but things did not work out last season.

The Bears return eight of their top-10 tacklers, including nine starters. I’d expect this unit to improve a bit from a season ago, but it's difficult to know how much better these players can realistically be.

Utah Utes Betting Preview: Rising Settling in at Quarterback

In last year’s matchup between these two teams, Utah was still figuring out its quarterback situation, which never really got resolved. Nate Johnson and Bryson Barnes split time under center in the game, resulting in Utah averaging -0.35 EPA per dropback but still getting the win.

We didn’t learn much about Utah last week. The Utes defeated Southern Utah 49-0 as quarterback Cameron Rising made his return to the field after missing all of last season. Rising completed 10-of-15 passes for 254 yards and five touchdowns.

Last year, Utah ranked 65th in SP+ on offense and 24th on defense. Rising should solidify the position and lift up the entire offense, but the Utes also get star TE Brant Kuithe back from injury after he missed the 2023 season as well. Kuithe caught all four of his targets in Week 1 for 69 yards and three touchdowns.

The Utes return two of their top three receivers from last season and add Dorian Singer from USC to boost the pass-catching group. Only two offensive linemen return, but their replacements have some game experience so it's not a full-blown restart.

The defense should be good as it returns nine starters, including the team's entire front six and three defensive backs. Safety Cole Bishop linebacker Jonah Elliss will be missed but expect the defense to be a top-25 unit again.

Baylor vs Utah Pick & Prediction

Despite being in the same conference, Utah is just in a different place than Baylor. The Utes are primed to be a playoff contender and the Bears will likely be struggling to get back to a bowl game.

Baylor does have a lot of returning experience, but these same players weren’t great last year. Finn’s Baylor debut left a lot to be desired, and the new offensive system will be experiencing some growing pains.

I think this week we see what Utah is really made of as Rising gets more comfortable in only his second start in the last 20 months. This spread is high, but the Utes should win comfortably at home and cover the spread.

Pick: Utah -14.5 | Bet to -15.5

• 55% of the bets and 52% of the money are are on Utah to cover the spread.
• 60% of the best and 94% of the money are on the OVER