BYU football aims to take care of red-hot Utah State in Week 6

BYU football hosts in-state rival Utah State on Friday night. Can the Cougars take care of business against their Mountain West opponent?

Through their first five games, the BYU Cougars took on four Power Five opponents and an FCS foe. Unsurprisingly, the Cougars gave up only 207 total yards of offense to the Cowboys as they knocked off McNeese 30-3. In the four FBS contests to date, BYU is 2-2 with wins over Arizona and Wisconsin and losses to Cal and Washington.

The most recent loss in Seattle saw BYU exposed as pretenders for the national crown in a 35-7 defeat. Unable to generate any rushing offense, Tanner Mangum was contained for only 160 passing yards as the Cougars became one-dimensional in the loss. Washington poured on more than 450 yards of offense in the mismatch, and BYU fell from the ranks of the AP Top 25 as a result.

Utah State, meanwhile, is a surprising 3-1 and 1-0 in Mountain West play. The Aggies lost the season opener at Michigan State 38-31, but since then they have reeled off three straight victories to keep pace with Boise State in the MWC Mountain.

Matt Well has one of the nation’s best scoring offense, as Jordan Love and company rack up more than 51 points per game on average. They have also benefitted from great field position, as kick returner Savon Scarver ranks in the top five nationally in return average and return touchdowns. Punt returner Jordan Nathan ranks in the top 10 in punt returns and scores.

These two teams are well matched, and they’ve split the last four games in the annual series. Here’s how you can watch the Friday night Beehive State showdown between BYU and Utah State:

Date: Friday, Oct. 5
Time: 9:00 p.m. ET
Location: Provo, Utah
Venue: LaVell Edwards Stadium
TV: ESPN 2
Live Stream: WatchESPN | FuboTV

Keys to Victory

BYU needs to set themselves up better for success on first downs when they take on Utah State on Friday night. The Cougars are 113th in the country in first downs offense, and it puts them in difficult situations in later downs that make it harder to convert and keep drives going. Given that they only average 21.4 points per game with an average margin of victory of less than a single point, BYU must keep drives alive if they  hope to beat the Aggies.

To win on the road in Provo, Utah State needs to do a better job of controlling the clock than they have in the first month of the season. The Aggies rank 127th in the FBS in time of possession, which hasn’t hurt them yet. But against a team like BYU, Matt Wells needs his squad to limit the opportunities the Cougars have to move the ball downfield.

Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com

Point Spread: BYU -2.5
Over/Under: 55

Prediction

BYU is favored by less than a touchdown on their home field, and the oddsmakers are predicting a low-scoring contest in general. Look for the Cougars to just barely beat the spread, possibly in overtime, as they win by a field goal. Defense will rule the day as the rivals finish well below the over/under line.

Final Score: BYU 24, Utah State 21