The fact that we get the Holy War in Week 1 -- and the first day of Week 1 at that -- is a treat. And while I would have loved to get this at 5.5 as some of my cohorts below did, the fact that it is still under a touchdown interests me greatly. Utah is 10 points better than BYU, and Kyle Whittingham gets his team up for big games. Considering the preparation for this has likely been most of the offseason -- and the Utes' recent history over the Cougars -- I'm willing to lay the points here. I do expect this to be close at the half only for Utah to pull away in the third quarter and ice it late with a key turnover.

The Holy War is one of my favorite rivalries in college football, and it's the most interesting game on Thursday night's slate. It's also one in which I'm taking the Utes, as I believe they've got enough of a talent edge to cover this spread, though I wouldn't expect a blowout.

I have Utah rated 13.5 points better than BYU. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is 20-9 ATS on the road the last five years and has beaten BYU eight straight times. The Utes have the far better defense and Zack Moss (2,269 rushing yards, 21 rushing TDs the last two seasons) at running back. The senior back can dominate a game on the ground, setting up Tyler Huntley with the play-action pass.

Both these teams are built from the inside, so expect an all-out slugfest, and a low scoring one at that. My simulations are averaging just 37 points between the two teams -- a full 10 points below the current total. In fact, the Under hits in nearly 75 percent of my simulations, a huge numbers. Take the Under (-110).

It's always tough to pick a rivalry game in Week 1, and BYU is loaded with experience. But Utah has one of the best players in college football in Zack Moss, an established star quarterback in Tyler Huntley and one of the best front sevens in college football. If you're telling me that a one-touchdown win for the Utes gets me a win, I'll take that all day long. Moss will put it away in the second half and the Utes will win by 10-plus.

Utah has won the last eight meetings against rival BYU, but most of the games have been close, which is the only reason I can make a case for why this spread is so low. Utah brings back 14 starters including all its offensive leaders from last season and senior QB Tyler Huntley is back healthy and ready to do some special things. Let's call the BYU home-field edge only 2-points because Utah is the much better team and my rating differential between the two squads is close to 11 points. So if I'm saying Utah should be -9 or -8.5, I'm certainly laying -5.5. Utah is the play.