Utah football vs. Texas Tech picks, predictions for college football Week 4 matchup

A Big 12 showdown between Utah and Texas Tech is set to headline college football's Week 4 slate.

As one of three ranked-on-ranked matchups featured on Saturday's loaded schedule, the Utes and Red Raiders will go toe-to-toe during Fox's prime viewing window, with the network's Big Noon Kickoff broadcast crew in town to preview the game and the other intriguing contests around the country.

Based on how some prognosticators forecast the top-20 matchup playing out, it doesn't seem like Utah and Texas Tech will disappoint the national viewing audience at home.

Here's a look at a few predictions and picks from national media outlets heading into Saturday.

Bleacher Report: Utah 31, Texas Tech 30

Bleacher Report's David Kenyon gives the Utes a slight edge in a battle of two teams that have built their newfound strengths via the transfer portal.

"This is a classic strength-on-strength battle with a high-scoring Texas Tech offense taking on a sturdy Utah defense," However, it's also a clash of two units—the Tech defense and Utah offense—rebuilt in the transfer portal. Utah seemingly has an edge in that department while at home, but we're going to learn plenty about both programs in this Big 12 showdown.

Brad Craford, CBS Sports: Texas Tech 31, Utah 30

CBS Sports' Brad Crawford is sticking with the team he picked in the preseason to win the Big 12 for this colossal league opener.

"Utah is nearly unbeatable at home," Crawford writes. "But I think Texas Tech finds enough explosive plays downfield to prevail in a seismic conference opener for both nationally-ranked teams."

Chris Hummer, CBS Sports: Texas Tech 28, Utah 27

CBS Sports' Chris Hummer isn't exactly sold on Dampier's efficient start to the season, and forecasts the Red Raiders' defense to take advantage in a close win for the road team.

"It helps the Utes they're playing at home," Hummer writes. "But mostly I think it's Texas Tech's ability to challenge Utah's pass game in a way nobody else has this season. Devin Dampier is awesome but is still an inconsistent passer. Texas Tech, with an excellent secondary, takes advantage of that and wins a tight one."

Dimers.com: Utah 30, Texas Tech 27

After simulating the outcome of the Utes-Red Raiders game over 10,000 times, Dimers.com’s model gives Utah a win probability of 59%, while Texas Tech has a win probability of 41%.

ESPN SP+: Utah 28, Texas Tech 26

ESPN's Bill Connelly has released the Week 4 picks from SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measurement of college football efficiency. According to the model, the Utes have a 55% of beating the Red Raiders, with a projected margin of 1.9 points.

Fox Sports: Utah 30, Texas Tech 27

With the help of Data Skrive, Fox Sports projects Utah will come away with a 3-point win at home over Texas Tech.

The Athletic: Utah wins by 2 points

While pointing out the fact the only team with a winning record on either Utah or Texas Tech's nonconference schedule with a winning record is Wyoming (2-1), The Athletic staff writer Manny Navarro predicts Dampier's turnover-free days will be behind him after he goes up against the Red Raiders' defense. However, even that won't stop the Utes from pulling out a victory.

"Elusive Utah quarterback Devon Dampier has played turnover-free football to this point. Odds are he’ll finally cough it up at least once against Texas Tech," Navarro writes. "But I also think he’ll make enough plays (300-plus yards of total offense, two TDs) and control the clock to lead his team to a two-point win."

The Sporting News: Utah 35, Texas Tech 31

The other predictions on this list fall somewhere in the 1-3 point margin, making Bill Bender's call of 35-31 in favor of Utah for The Sporting News an outlier in comparison to the picks made by some of his counterparts in the media.

"Utah is home and has a chance to establish itself as the Big 12 favorite," Bender writes. "Texas Tech QB Behren Morton leads the Big 12 with a 208.4 passer rating, but the Utes are a significant step up in competition.