Predicting the final score of Baylor football vs. No. 13 Utah

Here is how we think it's going to play out on Saturday.

Rob Gray-Imagn Images

After a week off, Baylor is back in action on Saturday. The Bears, who have five wins on the season, need one more to secure bowl eligibility this season. While just becoming bowl-eligible is a disappointment compared to early-season expectations -- it's still important to the program.

But it won't come easy this weekend as No. 13 Utah comes to town. The Utes are competing for a College Football Playoff spot and a win over Baylor would be a starting point for Utah.

Here is how our staff sees it going down.

Trent Knoop

Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Baylor looked to turn a corner defensively two weeks ago against UCF. The Bears were in position and tackled better than they have all season -- but that was also against the Knights. This will be a completely different challenge.

Utah has one of the best rushing attacks in college football and if Baylor is going to compete, it's really going to need its best performance of the season. The Utes also have a good passing defense and Sawyer Robertson will need to be on his A-game on Saturday.

I look for Baylor to keep the game close, but containing Utah's run game all night won't be a task Baylor can handle.

Final score: Utah 34, Baylor 23

Josh Abraham

The Bears are back and are coming off a bye week. While the Bears' season has certainly been up and down, the same cannot be said for their opponents, the 13th-ranked Utah Utes. The Utes have been sensational this season and have one of the strongest rushing offenses in the country.

In order for Baylor to come away from this game with a victory, their defensive line is going to need to generate pressure and consistently win against Utah's offensive line. Given that the Bears' defense has been subpar throughout the first nine games of the season, I do not see any reason as to why that will change this week. Give me the Utes here to win due to Baylor not being able to slow down their rushing offense.

Final score: Utah 38, Baylor 24

Tony Thomas

Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Baylor keeps the winning momentum coming out of the bye week to upset the Utes behind a strong performance by Sawyer Robertson and an inspired Bears defense.

Finals score: Baylor 34, Utah 31

Jacob Haddadin

I think Baylor drops this one. Although the defense turned a corner before the bye week, I do not see the Baylor defense being able to keep the run-heavy offense of the Utes down. Utah has a committee of backs with a mobile quarterback that is far more talented than anything UCF had.

With the constant run attack, Baylor will struggle to get the offense on the field. I expect Utah to dominate time of possession, similar to what we saw when Baylor visited Cincinnati a few weeks ago. There is potential for the talented Baylor receivers to create issues for Utah’s defense, as the matchup favors the talented receiving core against the man-to-man defense Utah likes to run.

This would be the pathway to victory for the Bears, along with a healthy Bryson Washington taking a load off of Sawyer Robertson like he did last season and early on in the season.

Final score: Utah 34, Baylor 24

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