There's a big difference between blowing out bad teams at home and beating No. 16 Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium. On Saturday Texas Tech faces a much different test than Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State. While the Utes haven't played anyone either, they have twice won on the road. With transfer quarterback Devon Dampier, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham looks as if he has the Utes back in the right direction, and Rice-Eccles Stadium is a notoriously difficult place to play when Utah is good.

Following a rare down year, the Utes certainly appear to be back. As such, this is a light price against a potent Texas Tech club that has looked great thus far but is historically less daunting away from home. The early start negates some of the home-field edge for the Utes but we still expect them to emerge with a win.

Let's see if this read on Texas Tech is correct. The Red Raiders show all of the classic signs of a bully, which is in character for this program and Joey McGuire eager to please the big boosters. That works against teams you can bully like Ark-Pine Bluff, Kent State, and what looks a bad Oregon State. The step up in class in enormous this week for the Red Raiders. It's a completely different Utah this season with Devon Dampier at QB, and Kyle Whittingham has his usual collection of thick bruisers on his defensive front. Dampier is a massive upgrade from the past couple of years that were sidetracked by Cam Rising injuries. Will take Kyle Whittingham over McGuire as well. Play Utah

This won't be a classic Big 12 shootout in the 48-45 sense, but it'll be a higher-scoring affair. Tech's offense is very explosive and will hit big plays. Utah's offensive line is terrific and will help the Utes offense dominate in the run game. I don't see many stops coming.

Texas Tech's rebuilt line of scrimmage is a major reason why they look like potential Big 12 Conference favorites. Yes, going on the road to Utah is a tough plays to play. But with the early kickoff time, it actually helps Texas Tech. Plus, I can trust the Red Raider offense to find enough points to cover and potentially pull off the upset.

From 2021-2023, Utah was 18-1 SU at home, having covered the majority of the time. In 2023 alone, they made me very successful on this site when I picked them to cover at Rice-Eccles Stadium. I believe this is a preview of the Big 12 Championship Game in December and that both teams will be College Football Playoff-worthy, but give me the team with the better coach, better offensive / defensive lines, and home field advantage. Utah 30, Texas Tech 24.

Not many tougher places to play than Utah, and it's the first road game of the year for Texas Tech, which has been unstoppable offensively so far. But the Utes have allowed only 25 total points and have held each of their three opponents to under 250 yards of offense. Utah is on a 5-0 ATS run dating to last season. New starting QB Devon Dampier is 2-0 ATS in his career vs. ranked teams, both coming while he was with New Mexico.