Experts predict Utah vs. UCLA college football Week 1 game

Nearly nine months removed from what Kyle Whittingham describes as a "disappointing" season for Utah, the Utes are set to take the field once again for the 2025 college football regular season.

And what better way to cap off the first Saturday of the college football season than with an old Pac-12-after-dark matchup at the historic Rose Bowl.

Utah's comeback tour following a 5-7 finish to the 2024 campaign starts with a showdown against UCLA in Southern California this Saturday.

Kickoff from Pasadena, California, is set for 8 p.m. PST on FOX. It marks the first time the two schools have seen each other on the gridiron since both departed the Pac-12 ahead of the 2024 regular season.

The Utes look to bounce back from a disappointing and injury-riddled 2024 season that saw them use four different quarterbacks and finish outside the top 100 in scoring offense. And on the other side, DeShaun Foster's Bruins are also looking to bounce back from a 5-7 campaign behind a new-look offense and new quarterback in Tennessee transfer Nico Iamaleava.

Here's a look at how the experts are picking Saturday's game.

Bill Connelly SP+: Utah 26, UCLA 22

ESPN's Bill Connelly released the Week 1 picks from SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measurement of college football efficiency. The Utes had a 62% of beating the Bruins in the model's rendition of Week 1, with a projected margin of 4.7 points.

The preseason rankings from SP+ had Utah at No. 25 in the nation and UCLA at No. 50.

Dimers.com: Utah 28, UCLA 22

After simulating the Utes-Bruins matchup 10,000 through its predictive model, Dimers.com gave Utah a 66% chance of defeating its former Pac-12 foe heading into their showdown in Southern California.

CBS Sports: UCLA covers (+6.5)

With the help of SportsLine' projection model, CBS Sports picked UCLA to cover the 6.5-point spread that was offered on FanDuel Sportsbook.

"UCLA covers well over 60% of the time, per the model, with the Under (50.5) hitting in 80% of simulations," wrote Ross Kelly.

Oddshark: UCLA wins and covers (+6)

Oddshark set the spread for Saturday's matchup between the Utes and Bruins at -6 in favor of Utah, though the betting site's computer predicted UCLA to cover and win the game outright.

Worth noting: Excluding ties, the Utah-UCLA contest had the smallest projected margin (0.1 points) of any game Oddshark's computer picked for Week 1.

ESPN: UCLA has 52.1% win probability

ESPN's matchup predictor wasn't too fond of the Utes in its initial release for the 2025 season — Utah had a higher win probability rate than its opponent in just five of the team's 12 regular season games — starting with a projected loss against UCLA in Week 1.

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.