Predictions, picks for Utah vs. Baylor Week 12 college football game

Utes and Bears set to square off from Waco, Texas

Utah Utes wide receiver Mana Carvalho (28) returns a punt during the first quarter of the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The past seven weeks leading up to a Big 12 bout against Baylor were quite a roller coaster ride for Utah.

The highs included multiple blowout wins, starting with a dominant 34-point triumph on the road over West Virginia a week after a disheartening home loss to Texas Tech appeared to establish the framework for how the league's hierarchy would play out for the rest of the regular season.

A frustrating night in Provo, Utah, was another low point on the track for the Utes, especially considering how proficient they looked on both sides of the ball against Arizona State the previous Saturday. Miscues in the red zone, turnovers and lack of execution got in the way of a résumé-building win for Kyle Whittingham and company, and instead handed them their second defeat in the span of a month.

Then, all of a sudden, it was full speed ahead for Utah's thrill ride. Byrd Ficklin took center stage for a historic drubbing of Colorado, becoming one of just five Utes quarterbacks since 1997 to rush for 150 yards and throw for 140 yards in a 53-7 demolition on Oct. 25.

Devon Dampier took the reins back for a top-25 matchup against Cincinnati the ensuing Saturday, but it was Utah's defense that stole the show, holding the Bearcats to a season-low 14 points while forcing three turnovers in a 31-point thrashing of the No. 17 team in the Associated Press poll.

Just like that, two weeks after it felt like the Utes' Big 12 title and College Football Playoff hopes had been put on hold, they were put right in the mix for a playoff spot with the potential for an appearance in the conference title game still intact. Utah checked in at No. 13 in the first two CFP rankings, behind Texas Tech and BYU, with three more regular-season games on the docket.

After not having to leave the state of Utah for the past seven weeks, the Utes looked to keep pace with the rest of the conference's top contenders in a pivotal matchup against a Bears team seeking to become bowl eligible following a tough start that wound up dashing their playoff aspirations earlier in the season.

Some prognosticators and predictive algorithms foresaw Utah's momentum carrying over into its Week 12 contest following a bye, though another decisive victory wasn't a consensus.

Arizona Republic: Utah 31, Baylor 23

Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic predicted an intriguing one to play out between the Big 12 constituents, with Utah edging out an 8-point win and continuing its roll since its setback to BYU.

Utah won its first nine games by an average of 36.4 points, with its thinnest margin coming in a 31-6 victory over Wyoming in Week 3.

Bleacher Report: Utah 31, Baylor 27

Bleacher Report's David Kenyon noted Baylor's porous defense being reason enough to favor Utah in his prediction for Saturday's game. He also pointed out, though, the potential for an upset if the Bears' assortment of pass-catchers proved to be too much for the Utes.

ESPN SP+: Utah 35, Baylor 22

Bill Connelly's SP+ model, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measurement of college football efficiency, predicted Utah to pick up its eighth double-digit victory of the season, giving the Utes an 80% win probability rate in his Week 12 prediction spreadsheet.

Connelly's metrics-based formulas accurately picked the winner in seven of Utah's first nine games the season, with the exception being its losses to Texas Tech and BYU.

Fox Sports: Utah 37, Baylor 21

Using a betting model from Data Skrive, Fox Sports projected that Utah would beat Baylor comfortably on Saturday.

Sporting News: Utah 38, Baylor 28

Bill Bender of Sporting News reasoned Baylor's run defense wouldn't be able to slow down the Utes' rushing attack, which ranked No. 3 in the Football Bowl Subdivision heading into Week 12 with 267.1 rush yards per game.