SicEm365 Staff Predictions for Baylor's Tough Test against No. 12 Utah

The SicEm365 Staff gives their predictions for Baylor’s matchup against No. 12 Utah. The contest will kick off at 11 a.m. at McLane Stadium and will be televised on ESPN.

Colt Barber — Utah 31, Baylor 23

I expect Baylor to play cleaner than they did a week ago, specifically on the offensive line. It will be needed because of Utah’s defense. My biggest questions are now on the defensive side of the ball and what type of game plan Matt Powledge and Dave Aranda have for Utah’s offense. I don’t think Baylor has the ability to do enough and win this game, but I expect Baylor to play better than it did against Texas State.

Cole Tompkins - SicEm365.com

According to Caesars Sportsbook, Baylor is an +8 underdog against No. 12 Utah, and the over/under is 47.

Brian Ethridge – Utah 31, Baylor 13

Baylor is now in the proving business and until the defensive line can control the line of scrimmage, a powerful and physical Utah will push them around. The same goes for the offensive line in their unwillingness to keep a low pad level versus a tenacious front seven of the Utes. 

Ashley Hodge — Utah 31, Baylor 14

Those lines for Baylor... yikes.  It might be a long year. 

David Smoak — Utah 30, Baylor 20

Utah prides itself on playing physically on both sides of the ball and not self-destructing; they were +6 a year ago in the turnover ratio, while Baylor was -2. That doesn’t seem to be much of a difference, but it’s validating Utah protecting the football. I think Baylor will need to win the turnover battle by at least +2 to make this game go down to the wire.

Paul Catalina — Utah 31, Baylor 17

Baylor plays harder, but Utah is way too physical for them. You can’t fix offensive line issues like that in one week. 

Craig Smoak — Utah 42, Baylor 24

The Bears play hard with a little extra pep in their step after last week's events but aren't equipped to stand toe-to-toe with Utah for four quarters. The Utes wear them down and out as we get more clarity on the most glaring issues, defensively and on the offensive line -- although not necessarily for the better. There are no moral victories here, but there is a spark to build from. 

Travis Roeder — Utah 37, Baylor 20

All eyes will be on Baylor's offensive line, but I remain significantly concerned about the defense, especially with Devin Lemear out. Utah's OC Andy Ludwig is one of the top in the game, and I think he eats Baylor's safeties up with misdirection and forcing (missed) tackles in the open field. On offense, Baylor will get some scoring drives going with Robertson running the ball and hitting some chunk plays to Ketron and Hal, but Baylor won't be able to efficiently and consistently move the ball against a nasty Utah defensive front. 

Sam Bradshaw — Utah 30, Baylor 17

After last week, I need to see Baylor put a solid performance together before I can pick any big-time win. The Bears lose another, but the lack of Cam Rising & Brant Kuithe keep the scoring from a giant margin.

Kendall Kaut — Utah 35, Baylor 28

@Jeff Swinger

Utah HC Kyle Whittingham told 365 Sports that he expects to see a different Baylor team this Saturday.

Baylor plays closer this week, leading to a round of, "Well, this is improvement against a good team," but plenty of, "Uh, but they're 0-2 with a loss to Texas State" talk. 

If Baylor gets blown out--I'd count that as being non-competitive in the second half--then prepare for hell. But I think Baylor plays close enough we get a debate this week about whether improvement means much in the grand scheme of things. 

Grayson Grundhoefer — Baylor 27, Utah 24

Utah is the better football team plain and simple, but they used a lot of emotion to get revenge on Florida in Week 1. Plus the Utes are a much different team at home than on the road. Utah is 35-13 since 2019, and 12 of those losses have come on the road or on a neutral site. I expect their backup QBs to struggle much more than they did in Week 1; now, if Rising plays then I would flip my pick because he can take advantage of Baylor’s secondary. The Bears have a lot to prove from an effort standpoint, and that effort will lead to a huge upset, which will leave people scratching their heads at what happened in Week 1.

Jack Mackenzie — Utah 34, Baylor 17

While I expect much more juice from the Bears on Saturday, I don’t think it translates into anything more than maybe a close first half. Utah takes advantage of Baylor’s weakness in the trenches.

Garrett Ross — Utah 34, Baylor 17

I’m not sure if Baylor can compete man-to-man against Utah in the trenches. The Utes are an extremely physical football team and should be able to lean on the Bears all night. 

Emory Winter — Utah 35, Baylor 31

Baylor will come out hot and sling the ball around the field. Although BU’s offensive line couldn’t block a soul in Week 1, I believe Coach Mateos will have a band-aid fix for an important non-conference game. Baylor struggles with dual-threat QBs and that will continue this weekend no matter who lines up at QB for the Utes. The fanbase will have renewed faith, but ultimately, Baylor falls short. 

Levi Caraway — Utah 37, Baylor 23

Personally, I’m extremely skeptical that Baylor can turn things around. You can hypothetically fix the energy and intensity at which the team plays, but you can’t fix getting absolutely manhandled in the trenches in a week's span. Regardless of how well Sawyer Robertson plays at quarterback, I don’t see how the Bears can match Utah up front on either side of the ball.