The Holy War is coming back on Sunday night in Provo and will be aired on ESPN in primetime at 7:15 PST. This is one of my favorite rivalries in all of sports. It is always a crazy atmosphere and the games are always close. Remember the 2015 Royal Las Vegas Bowl, when the Cougars nearly came back from a 35 point halftime deficit fall just short 35-28 in the final minutes. This is always fun game to watch and is on my bucket list of college football games I want to witness in person. The secuilar school will fight with the Mormons for bragging rights of the Beehive State. I promise you the Holy War will be lit! Utes fans will be drinking their vodka in water bottles outside their tailgates while BYU fans will be continuously fueled with neverending energy from their Holy Ghost. The cultural differences of the fan bases, as well as the proximity of the school, makes this rivalry one of the best in college football. Moreover, the game is played in one of the most majestic venues in all of college football at Lavell Edwards Stadium, surrounded by the grand Transverse Mountains of Provo, Utah. This is a game worth staying up late to watch.
Utah has been victorious in the last 5 meetings, but the Cougars are looking to break the streak in order to turn around their season. BYU opened as 1.5 point favorite, but over the course of the week, money has been poured on the Utes as they sit as (-2.5-3 point favorite).
Both of these teams are built around their defenses and their offenses have been struggling to start the year. BYU is 1-1, coming off an humiliating 27-0 loss to LSU, where they failed to get the ball past the 50 yard line. The Cougars did not look impressive in their win against Portland State, where they struggled to move the ball in the first half. BYU Quarterback Tanner Mangum has shown he can be a talented passer, but the Cougars have had trouble running the ball behind an uncharacteristically bad BYU offensive line. Both teams are having trouble replacing their star running backs from last season. Jamal Williams and Joel Williams both carried their teams on the ground. Utah running backs averaged less than 4.6 yards per carry against FCS school North Dakota. The Utes shocked the Pac-12 country by naming Tyrell Hundley the starting QB over Troy WIlliams. Hundley threw for 227 yards and had a 72 percent completion rate against North Dakota. The question is whether Huntley will be able to win the big game on the road against an tremendous defense. If he struggles early, I wouldn’t be surprised if Williams made an appearance.
This is a huge matchup for both teams and a win would create an immeasurable momentum boost for either team. Both of these teams have top 20 defenses and this game should be defensive grind that the traditionalist will love. This should be a very close game and I think the safest bet is the under at 45.5. BYU has an elite front 7 that was able to handle Derrius Guice and I believe they are going to strangle the Utes running game, forcing an inexperienced QB to beat them. This should be a close game throughout, but I believe Mangum makes a magical play at the end to give BYU another memorable Holy War victory. Final Score prediction 17-13 BYU.