National Analysts Pick No. 21 BYU vs No. 9 Baylor

A roundup of BYU-Baylor picks from across the country

No. 21 BYU will get a taste of life in the Big 12 on Saturday night when it hosts no. 9 Baylor. Both teams bring high-powered offenses to Provo; in their season openers last weekend, BYU and Baylor scored a combined 119 points. 

As of this writing, BYU is a 3-point favorite favorite according to the betting lines. As one of the marquee college football matchups of the weekend, national analysts aross the country have been unveiling their BYU-Baylor predictions. Below is a recap of the their predictions.

National Analysts Pick BYU-Baylor

Pat Forde - Sports Illustrated

Pick: Baylor 26, BYU 24

Ross Dellenger - Sports Illustrated (via the College Football Enquirer podcast)

"I'm going with the Bears getting those points," Dellengar said on the College Football Enquirer podcast. "I feel like [Baylor] is in a little different place, the program in general...I think BYU probably got the more impressive win by going on the road to South Florida, that kind of a cross country trip. But I'll take the Bears in probably a pretty close game."

Pick: Baylor to cover the spread

Dan Wetzel - Yahoo! Sports (via the College Football Enquirer podcast)

"Too much speed I think for Baylor in this game."

Pick: Baylor to cover the spread

Stewart Mandel - The Athletic

"It’s a rare Top 25 matchup After Dark. Hopefully fans back East will stay up, because they’re already sleeping on BYU. The Cougars flew cross-country last week and hung 50 on USF while running for, um, 312 yards at 8.4 per attempt. Dave Aranda’s Baylor defense will be better prepared, but the Cougars will be a tough out in Provo at night."

Pick: BYU 31, Baylor 26

Steve Lassan - Athlon Sports

Pick: BYU

Mark Ross - Athlon Sports

Pick: BYU

Ben Weinrib - Athlon Sports

Pick: Baylor

Morgan Moriarty - Bleacher Report

"It'll be tough for Baylor to have to go on the road to face a ranked team, not to mention dealing with a time change. This one will be entertaining throughout. I think Baylor will keep this one close, but I like BYU's experienced defense to have the better day."

Pick: BYU 35, Baylor 30