Utah Utes vs BYU Cougars odds, tips and betting predictions

Utah Utes – -222.22 at Bovada
BYU Cougars – +180

Utah hit the road to face non-conference rivals BYU in the opening game for each team. The Utes have won eight straight against BYU and NCAAF betting lines have them as five-point favorites in this game.

While their record against Utah is poor, BYU have won five straight home openers dating back to 2005. A win would give the Cougars a huge boost of confidence and their early season schedule is a killer, including a road game against Tennessee of the SEC and then two more games facing Pac-12 teams in USC and Washington.

SEE ALSO: 2020 NCAAF ODDS & PREDICTIONS

Utah won Pac-12 South last season and have some key players returning in skill positions. On top of that they ranked fifth in the nation last season against the run and their defensive line may be better this season.

Last season the Utes were 7-7 ATS and they did not cover the line at home against BYU in their second-last game as 10.5-point favorites, winning 35-27. The Cougars were a solid 9-3-1 ATS last season and while they covered facing Utah, they have failed to cover the spread in their last four home games against them.

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In last season’s win over BYU, Utah did not even have their starting QB and RB in Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss. Moss rushed for nearly 1,100 yards last season and will be up against a solid BYU run defense that returns many of their top tacklers from last season. While the Cougars held the Utes to under 300 total yards in last season’s loss, they still gave up 150 rushing yards and that was with Moss on the sidelines.

In the eight-game winning streak for Utah in this series they have averaged 134.4 rushing yards per game, while BYU have only averaged 99.8 rushing yards per game.

Huntley passed for 1,788 yards with 12 TD and six INT last term and while he can air it out and has a good WR corps, containing Moss has to be the top priority of the BYU defense.

BYU return QB Zach Wilson (1,573 yards, 12 TD, three INT last season) and in the loss to Utah he passed for 204 yards with two TD and a pick and led the team rushing for 73 yards. The sophomore plays behind a great line and has some solid targets including TE Matt Bushman, who led the team in receiving yards last season, and former four-star WR recruit Gunner Romney, who is hoping for an injury-free run.

Graduate transfer Ty’Son Williams hopes to give BYU a boost in the backfield, as the Cougars were not a very good run team last season, and Lopini Katoa is the returning rushing leader.

Utah Utes betting trends

• 17-7 ATS in their last 24 non-conference games
• 11-5 ATS in their last 16 road games
• Over record of 4-1 in their last 5 August games

BYU Cougars betting trends

• 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall
• Under record of 24-10 in their last 34 games

Utah vs BYU betting predictions

Utah Utes -5.5 @ -111.11 with Bovada

BYU will snap their losing streak against Utah some time, but that time will not be this season. The Utes have a great run defense and Moss is one of the better retuning RBs in the nation. Look for him to lead the Utes to a big game running the ball. This game will not be a blowout, but Utah are too strong on D and have the better run game. They will win and cover on the road, extending their winning streak over BYU to nine games.