The Texas Tech Red Raiders take on the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on FOX.
Utah is favored by -3 points on the spread with a moneyline of -155. The total is set at 57.5 points.
Here’s my Texas Tech vs. Utah predictions and college football picks for Saturday, September 20, 2025.
Texas Tech vs Utah Prediction
- Texas Tech vs. Utah Pick: Utah -3 or Better
My Utah vs. Texas Tech best bet is on the Utes spread. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
Texas Tech vs Utah Odds
| Texas Tech Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+3 -110 | 57.5 -110o / -110u | +135 |
| Utah Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-3 -110 | 57.5 -110o / -110u | -160 |
- Texas Tech vs Utah point spread: Utah -3
- Texas Tech vs Utah over/under: 57.5 points
- Texas Tech vs Utah moneyline: Texas Tech +135, Utah -160
Texas Tech vs Utah Preview
Texas Tech Red Raiders Betting Preview: Money Has Equaled Success
Texas Tech backed up the Brink’s truck and reportedly spent upwards of $28 million to bolster its 2025 roster.
Well, so far, so good. The Red Raiders are 3-0 and are outscoring their opponents 174-35. Now they'll face their first real test, with a difficult road trip incoming to Rice-Eccles Stadium to face a rebounding Utah team.
Outside of the NIL budget, a lot of the offseason talk in Lubbock was around the need for quarterback Behren Morton to take that next step into one of the country's best signal callers. He's come out of the gates on fire, completing over 70% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and just one interception.
He leads the country in touchdown passes and ranks second in yards per attempt (11.4).
Morton has a deep receiving room to work with. Coy Eakin, Caleb Douglas and Reggie Virgil all have more than 10 catches, and tight end Terrance Carter Jr. has become an instant red zone threat. Texas Tech ranks second in passing offense and has scored the most touchdowns through the air of any team.
The passing attack has needed to step up after the season-ending injury to USC transfer Quinten Joyner. The expected starting running back went down during fall camp and the Red Raiders have instead been using a committee approach, with three underclassman splitting carries.
Adam Hill has been the most efficient option (8.63 yards per carry) and Cameron Dickey leads the team in carries and has been the go-to red zone option. J’Koby Williams is the pass-catching threat, as he's tied for the team lead in receptions and is averaging 50 receiving yards per game.
Defense has been the issue for Texas Tech for as long as I can remember. The Red Raiders brought in seven new starters from the transfer portal on that side of the ball and hired new defensive coordinator Shiel Wood after he had success at Troy, Tulane and Houston.
It hasn’t faced the best competition, but so far, this rebuilt defense ranks fifth in Success Rate allowed and has been elite against the run.
The Red Raiders' entire defensive line was brought in from the transfer portal. David Bailey from Stanford, Lee Hunter from UCF, Romello Height from Georgia Tech and Skyler Gill-Howard from Northern Illinois have been a force up front for Texas Tech.
Through the first three games, the defense has yet to allow more than 14 points and has held each of its opponents to under 290 total yards of offense. The Red Raiders are allowing just 41.3 rushing yards per game and a minuscule 1.5 yards per carry.
Utah Utes Betting Preview: Big 12 Title Favorite?
After a disaster 2024 season, Kyle Whittingham and the Utes have quickly proven that it was an aberration.
Utah is 3-0 this season and is outscoring its opponents 137-25. This looks like the team we saw win two straight conference titles, and it's currently the betting favorite to win the Big 12.
Quarterback was the biggest question mark last season, and the Utes answered that problem with the addition of Devon Dampier from New Mexico. The electric dual threat has been everything the Utes needed.
With his arm, he's completing 73% of his passes for over 200 yards per game with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. With his legs, he leads the team with 66 rushing yards per game and has a score on the ground as well.
Dampier already has eight missed tackles forced and continues to be a human highlight reel. Luckily, he doesn’t have to break as many tackles with the benefit of operating behind one of the best offensive lines in the country.
The Utes returned all five starters up front, including two future NFL tackles.
The offensive line creates room to run for Dampier and the two-headed backfield of Wayshawn Parker and NaQuari Rogers.
Parker transferred to Utah from Washington State and Rogers joined Dampier from New Mexico. The two have split carries and have combined for 114.7 yards per game and six touchdowns.
While the offense might've been a disaster last season, it was business as usual for Morgan Scalley and the Utah defense. The Utes finished fourth in success rate allowed and were top-five in creating havoc on defense.
Just four starters returned but leading tackler Lander Barton is back in the middle, along with Levani Damuni, who led the team in tackles in 2023 before missing last year with an injury.
Utah’s 4-2-5 defense is loaded up front, and defensive end John Henry Daley has been absolutely dominant through the first three games. He's been the breakout star, leading the Utes with 13 tackles, five sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss. He has the most sacks in the country.
Texas Tech vs Utah Pick, Betting Analysis
The biggest decider of this game is who wins up front. Utah has the best offensive line in the Big 12 and Texas Tech might have the best defensive front in the Big 12. Whoever wins that matchup is going to win this football game.
Texas Tech has been dominant against the rush this season. It ranks second in rush success rate allowed, but that's come against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State. This will be the toughest test it'll face all season.
Utah is first in the country in rush success rate. The Utes rank seventh in the country with 290 rushing yards per game and have 11 scores on the ground.
The three-headed monster of Dampier, Parker and Rogers has been dominant. Parker and Dampier are both top-10 in the conference in missed tackles forced.
This all comes down to trust for me. Texas Tech invested a ton of money into its program and has loaded up through the transfer portal, especially on defense.
The Red Raiders have looked like legitimate Big 12 contenders through the first three games, but I need to see them prove it first before I trust them.
Since 2005, Texas Tech is 29-42 (40.8%) against the spread against ranked opponents. They're 12-21 (36.4%) ATS as an underdog on the road against ranked opponents. The Red Raiders are 4-7 ATS against ranked opponents under Joey McGuire.
We've seen this team be hyped up before and fall short of expectations. This is their chance to buck that trend, but I'm going to need to see it to believe it.
Utah is 32-22 ATS against ranked opponents under Whittingham, and it has a massive home field advantage at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
When I look at this game, the area I'm the most confident in is the Utah offensive line and rushing attack. I trust the Utes to win that matchup, so I'll back them at home here.
Pick: Utah -3 or Better
