Utah vs. Baylor: College Football Week 2 Odds & Picks (2023)
Gear up for another awesome weekend of college football action with BettingPros! Weâll have you covered with all of our top picks for the week along with our projected spreads and totals to help guide your college football bets. Below are our top picks and predictions for Saturdayâs Week 2 game: Utah vs. Baylor.
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Top College Football Odds & Picks: Utah vs. Baylor
Utah (-6.5) at Baylor
On this weekâs early-week line-lookahead show that we recorded on Sunday, I implored everyone to bet Utah early. At the time, the Utes were -5. I felt the line would quickly spike to over a TD, and thatâs exactly what happened. I would still play this up to Utah -8.
Baylor got ambushed by Texas State last week in a 42-31 loss. The Bears also lost starting QB Blake Shapen to injury in the process. Iâm less concerned about Shapen not playing â thereâs no guarantee that QB2 Sawyer Robertson, a former top recruit handpicked by late Mississippi State HC Mike Leach, isnât just as good â and more concerned about this Baylor team simply not being good.
Texas State, a 4-8 outfit last season that was playing in its first game under HC GJ Kinne, was in control the entire way, leading 28-13 at halftime. Despite benefiting from two Texas State lost fumbles, Baylor played from a double-digit deficit for most of the game. Whereas the Bobcats looked crisp in Kinneâs first game, Baylor acquitted itself as the opposite. Among the Bearsâ nine penalties were a laughable six false starts by the offensive line â the two in the second half drew justifiable boos from the home crowd.
Utahâs defense is one of the toughest in the nation. The Utesâ salty front-seven figure to wreak havoc on Baylorâs offensive line. On the other side of the ball, Baylor has a little talent in the back-end, but the defensive front is going to be a problem all season. Utahâs offensive line and run game in general will bully it.
I donât think Utah QB Cam Rising will play. But after Utah dominated Florida 24-11 without eight starters, the Utes figure to get at least a couple back in this game. Either way, the tough-as-nails Utes are just about the last team that Baylor, losers of five-straight dating back to last November, want to see.
The pick: Utah -6.5 (play to -8)
Best Ways to Bet College Football for Beginners
Game Total
Bettors new to the hobby can be confused by spreads, but game totals are simple. Every football game has a total posted for the combined final score between the two teams. Bettors have the option to choose the OVER or UNDER, generally at -110 odds (risk: $110; win: $100). So if the total is 42 and you take the OVER, you need 43 points to win the bet. If you put a bet down on the over to win $100 and it goes over, you get back the money you initially risked, plus $100. If it stayed under, you would have lost your $110 and thatâs it. If by chance the game ended with 42 total points, itâs called a push; when a game pushes, you get the money you risked back but nothing more.
ie: California vs. Illinois, Over 42 or Under 42
tip: Over bets can be a really fun social event with your buddies. Have everyone throw in a few bucks, then take the over together. Instead of getting pumped when one side scores, everyone is pumped for ANY score, all game.
Moneyline
The moneyline is the easiest way to test your college football knowledge: who will win the game? Thatâs it. The moneyline doesnât use favorites or underdogs, itâs totally straight up. That said, the risk-reward can be challenging because theyâre weighted. Instead of every game being around -110, like game totals and spreads, moneylines vary depending on the matchup.
For our example, California was favored by seven points over Illinois, meaning oddsmakers think the Golden Bears are a touchdown better than the Fighting Illini. If you took Cal on the moneyline, points donât matter, they just need to win the game. But because itâs safer to take them straight-up without points, youâll have to risk more when you make the bet â remember, theyâre seven points better than Illinois in the eyes of the oddsmakers. In this case, Cal is -280 on the moneyline, so if you want to win $100, you have to risk $280. On the flip side, moneyline bets can be valuable when taking the underdog because itâs a riskier bet â theyâre seven points worse than their opponent. In this case, Illinois is the underdog â +220 on the moneyline. Youâd win $220 on a $100 bet if you picked Illinois on the moneyline and they pulled off the upset.
ie: California (ML -280) vs. Illinois (ML +220)
tip: Check their history against one another. Keep an eye on the injury report and the weather.
Player Props
Player props are some of the most exhilarating bets you can place during a college football game, but theyâre also easy to understand. For major conferences, youâll have a wide array of options to choose from. Quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and sometimes tight ends will have props to choose from. Itâs simple, fun and easy to follow, and odds on player props donât vary as much as moneylines. Generally, prop bets are in the -110 range like generic spread and total bets.
ie: How many passing yards will Brandon Peters have against California? Over 250 or Under 250
tip: Check how players have performed in the situation theyâre going to be in. Use split stats on any reliable site to see their numbers at home, on a neutral-site, in December, etc.
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