You may have thought I was going under with both starting QB's out however I'm backing the Utah Utes minus seven. HC Kyle Whittingham is one of the best coaches in the county. If he was at Alabama or Georgia he would have 7 National Championships in the last 10 years. Whittingham has won the Pac-12 the last two years and is my favorite to win in 2023. His defense is ridiculous good. The drop off at QB for both teams is three points. Baylor lost last week to Texas State while Utah dominated Florida. This isn't the NFL where teams are not ready. Baylor just isn't that good.

There's an argument to take Baylor on Saturday: a team bouncing back from a disappointing loss against a team playing on the road after a big win at home. But I just can't. I don't think the sportsbooks have caught up yet on how much the Bears have lost from last season. This Baylor team does not have near the talent of the one that won the Big 12 two years ago, and quarterback Blake Shapen will not play. Meanwhile Utah QB Cam Rising could return on Saturday for the two-time Pac-12 champs. Even if he doesn't, Bryson Barnes has proven to be a more-than-capable backup. Give me the Utes.

The Bears appeared lifeless and were stunned by the efficient Texas State offense last week, resulting in an embarrassing loss as a four-touchdown favorite. They might have been looking ahead to this matchup, and should at least give a more respectable effort. Utah got its revenge on Florida but was unable to run the ball and inefficient on offense except for a couple drives. Both clubs are likely to be without their starting QBs because of injuries but both have capable backups. Ultimately, Baylor’s disastrous W eek 1 showing has provided some value in this spread. Take it.

The Utes might have caught a break last week when visiting Florida played like it was lost. More impressive for Utah was winning the opener minus QB Cam Rising, who is likely to be available this week. Not available will be Baylor QB Blake Shapen, KO'd by a knee injury when the Bears were ambushed by Texas State. Backup QB Sawyer Robertson, however, was in a battle with Shapen throughout camp, and the Mississippi State transfer moved the offense late last week before a couple of ill-timed giveaways thwarted a late Baylor comeback bid. As this is a show-me season for Baylor HC Dave Aranda, expect a kamikaze effort at home by the Bears while they take advantage of price inflation in their favor.

Star quarterback Cam Rising (knee) could be ready to go for this game, but I'm backing Utah while considering that he will remain sidelined. And just like last week against Florida, I think Utah knows that it can afford to not rush Rising back into action and still get a win. Baylor really struggled running the football in its stunning loss to Texas State last week, and if that's the case against the Bobcats it's going to extremely problematic against Utah. And while Baylor had success throwing the ball, quarterback Blake Shapen was injured and will miss a couple weeks. Utah will have to score a little bit to get the win and cover, but not too much.

This game takes a different turn now that the Baylor Bears will be without their starting QB Blake Shapen for at least 2-3 weeks. Without him, the Bears will be a bit more conservative offensively. On the other side, we've seen what Utah QB depth looked like last week in their dominance of Florida.