Utah-Baylor
Saturday, Nov. 15
8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific
ESPN2
Utah-Baylor is part of the Big 12 title chase. The Utah Utes are flying under the radar in the College Football Playoff discussion. They are not at the forefront of the Big 12 Conference standings. Texas Tech, BYU and Cincinnati are the three teams most likely to make the Big 12 Championship Game. However, BYU and Cincinnati play later this month. If BYU ( which beat Utah earlier this season) falters, Utah would get a possible path to the Big 12 title game for a chance to play its way into the playoff. Utah is not in prime position, but the Utes have to win out and go 10-2 and then see if the other dominoes fall in their favor. This is all about holding serve and then seeing if other scores will provide necessary help in the final weeks of the season.
Utah-Baylor is a test for the Utes on the road
Utes appear to be better but have to prove it
Utah, on paper, should be better than Baylor. The Bears have wobbled once again this season under coach Dave Aranda. Baylor, which made the Sugar Bowl earlier this decade and beat a Lane Kiffin-coached Mississippi team, has lost steam as a program. The Bears were overachievers not that long ago, but that identity has vanished in Waco. Baylor is adrift as a program and is doing nothing other than playing spoiler this week against Utah. That’s not where the Bears hoped or expected to be, but it’s where they are.
Yet, while Utah would seem to have the edge on paper, the Utes have not impressed away from home in 2025. They lost at BYU. They haven’t faced many high-end opponents on the road this year. They did look excellent against Cincinnati in a blowout win, but that was at home in Salt Lake City. An early-season road blowout of UCLA is obviously connected to the reality that the Bruins were horrible – one of the worst teams in college football – when coached by DeShaun Foster. If Utah had done that to UCLA with Tim Skipper and Jerry Neuheisel coaching the Bruins, perhaps we would upgrade our evaluation of Utah as a road team in 2025.
Utah Utes-Baylor Bears Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the 3Dog Thursday Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: Utah -8.5 (-105), Baylor +8.5 (-115)
Total: 59.5 (Over -110, Under -110)
Underdog moneyline: Baylor +240
For bettors, this feels like a game worth waiting on. Wait for the first 10-15 minutes to unfold, and then consider a live-game betting opportunity. The fact that Utah is favored on the road by more than one score (more than eight points) seems like an invitation to take Baylor, but Baylor doesn’t stand out as an especially trustworthy or good team. So, wait for those 10-15 minutes – maybe more – and look for an adjusted line. It could be that you could grab Baylor -14.5 points live if Utah gets an early 7-0 lead. On the other hand, if Baylor goes up 7-0, you might be able to get Utah in game at -3.5. This is a definite wait-and-see betting situation for Week 12.