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SALT LAKE CITY — BYU and Utah head west for a pair of marquee matchups, and four other Top 25 teams face off in this week's Pick'em.
Make your picks here.
No. 17 TCU (4-0) at No. 19 Kansas (5-0)
Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. MDT (FS1)
Kansas is the feel-good story of the college football season so far, but the Horned Frogs are coming to town looking to spoil the Jayhawks' Cinderella streak.
Why TCU will win: The Horned Frogs are averaging an absurd 48.5 points through four games and put up 55 on No. 18 Oklahoma last week in their Big 12 opener.
Quarterback Max Duggan has 11 touchdowns and no interception so far this season, lighting up the scoreboard with the help of running back Kendre Miller, who has five scores on the ground already.
Why Kansas will win: The Jayhawks are equipped to keep up with TCU in a shootout, averaging over 40 points per game themselves.
Junior quarterback Jalon Daniels has 11 touchdown passes to equal Duggan, while throwing just one pick. He also has a solid partner on offense in sophomore running back Devin Neal with four rushing touchdowns. A Kansas win will likely come down to its defense, though, which was able to hold Iowa State to 11 points last week.
Betting line: TCU -7
Over/under: 67.5
No. 8 Tennessee (4-0) at No. 25 LSU (4-1)
Saturday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. MDT (ESPN)
The prolific Vols offense meets a potent Tigers defense in a Top 25 SEC matchup this week in Baton Rouge.
Why Tennessee will win: There's a reason the Vols are a Top 10 team. Tennessee is one of the few teams in the country to boast two wins over Top 25 teams already this season: a 34-17 win over No. 17 Pitt in Week 2 and 38-33 win over No. 20 Florida two weeks ago.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker is already over 1,000 passing yards on the season and has eight touchdowns and no interceptions. Running back Jaylen Wright and wide receiver Jalin Hyatt have combined for seven touchdowns, and the Vols are averaging a scorching 48.5 points per game.
Why LSU will win: While Tennessee is averaging almost 50 points on offense, the LSU defense has given up more than 20 points just once this season and allows just 14.8 on average to its opponents.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels is also spotless in the passing game this season with six scores and no interceptions. The dual-threat junior transfer from Arizona State leads the Tigers in the running game as well, with 321 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Betting line: Tennessee -3
Over/under: 63.5
No. 11 Utah (4-1) at No. 18 UCLA (5-0)
Saturday, Oct. 8 at 1:30 p.m. MDT (FOX)
Utah faces its first ranked team this season on the road against the undefeated Bruins.
Why Utah will win: The Utes are defeating their opponents 42-14 on average this season, with a stifling defense and rapidly improving offense led by Cam Rising.
Rising has 13 touchdowns and two interceptions this season, and the Utes dropped 42 points on an Oregon State team last week that held USC to just 17 the week before that. Running back Tavion Thomas already has four scores on the season, even though head coach Kyle Whittingham says the run game is still lacking.
Why UCLA will win: The Bruins are also averaging nearly 42 points per game and have scored 40 or more in all but one game this season, including a 40-32 win over No. 15 Washington last week.
Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson has an 11-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio this season and running back mate Zach Charbonnet has five touchdowns on 417 yards.
Betting line: Utah -4.5
Over/under: 65
Air Force (4-1) at Utah State (1-4)
Saturday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. MDT (FS1)
Two teams with opposite records face off as the Aggies look to get their first conference win a season after winning the Mountain West championship.
Why Air Force will win: Air Force bested service academy rival Navy 13-10 last week, and senior running back Brad Roberts is racking up touchdowns this season with seven so far on 573 yards. The Falcons bounced back from a 17-14 conference-opening loss to Wyoming with an impressive 48-20 win over Nevada to start 1-1 in Mountain West play.
Why Utah State will win: This is just the second road game of the season for Air Force, with the first being its loss against Wyoming. Look for home-field advantage to play in the Aggies' favor this week.
As Jacob Nielsen wrote this week, despite four-straight losses, Utah State showed improvement in its 38-26 loss against BYU and is now trending upward. Quarterback Cooper Legas — who replaced injured starter Logan Bonner — threw for two touchdowns and ran in another in a game that was tied 17-17 at halftime.
Betting line: Air Force -10
Over/under: 55.5
No. 16 BYU (4-1) vs. Notre Dame (2-2)
Saturday, Oct. 8 at 5:30 p.m. MDT (NBC/Peacock) at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas
This iteration of the Shamrock Series was expected to be a premier matchup following Notre Dame's Top-5 ranking last season and the Cougars' return to national prominence, but an underwhelming start to 2022 for the Fighting Irish has dampened the allure, even if only slightly.
Why BYU will win: When two-thirds of Allegiant Stadium is wearing royal blue on Saturday many will say, "Well, BYU always travels well," when in reality, there are just a lot of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU fans already living in Sin City, as ironic as it sounds.
Still, a sea of blue won't be enough to carry the Cougars to a win on national television in primetime. Jaren Hall continues his NFL audition with 12 touchdowns to just one interception so far this season on 1,438 yards. He has established an impressive connection with sophomore receiver Keanu Hill in the absence of Gunner Romney and Puka Nacua, though both could be in action in Vegas.
Why Notre Dame will win: Following a Week 1 loss to No. 2 Ohio State and Week 2 upset to Marshall, the Fighting Irish have rattled off consecutive victories over nationally-relevant programs in Cal and North Carolina.
Drew Pyne replaced quarterback Tyler Buchner during the Marshall game and has five touchdowns and no interceptions in his first two starts since. Notre Dame has done well in limiting teams on the ground to just 142 yards on average and could stifle an already-struggling BYU run game that averages just 152 yards.
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Caleb Turner
