Cincinnati-Utah
Saturday, Nov. 1
10:15 p.m. Eastern, 7:15 p.m. Pacific
ESPN
Cincinnati-Utah will be one of the late-night games on the college football slate in the Big 12. The late start shouldn’t make fans or viewers think this game is comparatively less important, however.
With the Big Ten struggling to get four teams into the College Football Playoff, that’s an open spot for other conferences to take advantage of. The Big 12 is one of those conferences which will try to pounce and put two teams into the playoff. Cincinnati is one of the teams in the best position to make the playoff from the Big 12. The Bearcats have been one of the bigger surprises of the 2025 season. Coach Scott Satterfield entered this season on the hot seat. That seat has cooled considerably due to Cincy being unbeaten in Big 12 play through October. Utah had hoped to be a Big 12 contender going into this season, but the Utes are playing spoiler at this point in time.
Cincinnati-Utah matters a lot in Big 12 Championship Game
Bearcats and BYU are ahead of the pack
November begins with Cincinnati and BYU at the top of the Big 12. Can they maintain their places in the standings and fend off Texas Tech and Houston, the two most prominent challengers at this point? If Cincinnati can go into Salt Lake City and win on one of its longest road trips of the season, the Bearcats would be in excellent shape for getting one of the two spots in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Bearcats know that BYU plays Texas Tech later in November, guaranteeing that one of those two contenders will lose. If Cincinnati can handle business against Utah, it’s odds of making the Big 12 title game would skyrocket. This is an amazing opportunity for Cincy to put itself in position to play for the College Football Playoff.
Cincinnati Bearcats-Utah Utes Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: Cincinnati +10 (-110), Utah -10 (-110)
Total: 54.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: Cincinnati +300
The injury reports in this game are trending toward Utah. Ute quarterback Devon Dampier appears likely to play. Injury status-related news on him has been positive for Utah. On the other hand, Cincinnati running back Evan Pryor will not play in this game.
Evan Pryor is out with an ankle injury he suffered in Cincy’s recent win over Baylor. Pryor has rushed for 478 yads and three touchdowns so far this season and is tied for the Big 12 lead in rushing yards per carry. Pryor averages a whopping 7.2 yards per tote. That’s a big chunk of production Cincinnati will be missing, which in turn explains why Cincy is a 10-point underdog despite being at the top of the Big 12 standings.
Should Cincinnati be a 10-point underdog? It’s hard to win at Utah at night, but Utah crushed a Colorado team which isn’t good. Cincinnati is a solid team. Utah winning outright seems like the most likely outcome, but Cincinnati keeping the game close also seems highly realistic. Utah might need to prove in the first quarter that it can deliver the first punch and put UC on the ropes. We think you should wait for the first 10-15 minutes of the game before making a wager. Pregame bets are not advised in this situation.