2026 College Football Week 10 Expert Picks: BYU-Utah Set For All-Time Holy War

This weekend, we've got the Holy War and just another SEC battle. 

Here is how I'm wagering college football Week 10.

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This Holy War might be the holiest of them all: Utah hosting bitter rival BYU, with the winner in the driver's seat for a Playoff spot. 

It’s the first time both teams have been ranked in the top 10 for this matchup, and I can’t wait to start the day with this one.

I think BYU might win outright. It has been tested with its win over Notre Dame just a few weeks ago. Yes, it lost to UCF the following week in a typical trap game — big home win followed by a road conference game. Otherwise, the Cougars have handled business, even though the scores don’t seem that impressive. 

BYU is built on defense. It is 13th in yards per play and it limits explosives. It does not rush the passer all that well, but against Utah’s rushing attack, that might not be needed. BYU’s defense already faced a high-powered offense in the Irish and limited it to a negative EPA rushing day. 

Utah’s offensive production slowly ticked down when conference play started, but it did bounce back last week against a poor Cincinnati defense. Utah has played one defense in the same realm as BYU and that was Houston. Utah struggled to score, only putting up 21 points with seven of those happening super late after forcing a Houston turnover. 

It’s fair to also believe BYU’s offense might struggle in this game. However, it appears the Cougars are getting stud running back LJ Martin back, and they are much better when Martin is on the field. He’s averaging almost eight yards a carry with 20% of his rushes going for 10+ yards. 

Utah’s defense is the typical physical front against the run, but BYU is the best offense the Utes have faced all season. Utah’s pass rush concerns me. It is 80th in pressure rate and unless it blitzes, it isn't able to get to the quarterback. 

Seems less than ideal against BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier.

I see these teams as even. They are both defensively based with an offense that wants to run the ball. That’s too many points in a game like this. I’ll take BYU to cover.

In the newly-released CFP rankings, Alabama is fifth and is an underdog at LSU by almost a touchdown. I do lean towards LSU at -6, but that number feels big. 

Instead, I’m going to fade Alabama’s offense in this game.

Alabama is facing its fourth straight difficult defense, and in the first three games, we’ve seen the offensive efficiency drop. Quarterback Keelon Russell is nearing the end of his first season as a starting quarterback, and he’s been mostly excellent for his age. However, he has struggled the last three weeks outside the end of the Texas A&M game. Against Georgia, Tennessee and A&M, he completed only 60% of passes with just four passing touchdowns and three interceptions. 

Alabama’s beat-up offensive line has allowed 11 sacks in the three previous games. Now, the Tide play an LSU defense that’s first in sacks per pressure and 11th in pressure rate. The Bama offensive line and Russell were noticeably affected by the environment in Tennessee, and now they are at LSU. 

I feel most comfortable with Alabama not scoring much in this game.