SP+ Predicts No. 21 BYU vs No. 9 Baylor

BYU and Baylor, who were ranked no. 21 and no. 9 respectively in the latest AP poll , will battle on Saturday night in a preview of future Big 12 foes. Baylor will be the first top 10 team BYU has hosted at home in the independence era.
ESPN's Bill Connelly released the SP+ predictions for week two. Each week, Connelly unveils score predictions for every game involving an FBS team. On Tuesday, Connelly cemented his prediction for BYU-Baylor.
SP+ gives BYU an 53% chance to beat Baylor with an expected final score of 26-25. At 53% win probability, SP+ is higher on the Cougars' chances than ESPN FPI. FPI gives BYU just a 42.4% chance to beat Baylor. The difference between the two predictions is likely the weighted value of returning production in the SP+ formula. Returning production, where BYU ranks first in the country, is one of the three pillars of the SP+ formula.
Nobody is higher on BYU than the oddsmakers in Las Vegas. The Cougars are 3.5-point favorites against Baylor according to betting lines and the over/under is set at 53.5, meaning the implied projected final score is 27-24 in favor of BYU.
BYU and Baylor kick off at 10:15 PM EST on ESPN. Below are other notable SP+ predictions for this week.
Notable Week Two SP+ Predictions
No. 24 Tennessee 37 - No. 17 Pitt 30
No. 10 USC 34 - Stanford 25
No. 12 Florida 27 - No. 20 Kentucky 27 (tossup)
No. 1 Alabama 39 - Texas 20

Casey Lundquist is the publisher and lead editor of Cougs Daily. He has covered BYU athletics for the last four years. During that time, he has published over 2,000 stories that have reached more than three million people.
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