That’s what Kansas state has named their mascot. Although I don’t bet, I decided to check with ChatGPT to see what the oddsmakers are saying about this game. Looks like we shouldn’t be overconfident (not that we ever should be):
…oddsmakers and predictive models lean toward Utah, but it’s not a huge blowout. Here’s a breakdown of what the current betting landscape and predictions say:
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What the Oddsmakers and Models Are Saying
1. Point Spread & Moneyline
• Utah is favored by –1.5 points in most sportsbooks. 
• On the moneyline, it’s very tight: Utah ~–108, Kansas State ~–111. 
• The total (over/under) is set around 54.5 points. 
2. Predicted Win Probability
• According to a simulation model (Dimers), Utah has about a 57% chance to win vs. Kansas State’s ~43%. 
• The same model predicts a final score around 27–25 in favor of Utah. 
3. Expert Betting Trends
• According to OddsShark, the spread pick leans toward Kansas State +1.5, and for the total, they favor the under (54.5). 
• On Oddspedia, Utah’s implied win probability is ~54.6%. 
• Some free-picks sites (PicksAndParlays) think Utah will win, but they may not cover a larger spread. 
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Bottom Line
• Utah is a slight favorite — but not overwhelmingly so.
• The predicted score is close, suggesting it could be a competitive game.
• Some bettors are also pointing towards unders (fewer total points) based on the lines.
As long as we win, everything else is frosting on the cake.
This is another team with a good passing QB and really good receivers. The defensive line has to get in this QB’s head early and often. Our defensive backs have to break up the 50/50 balls more effectively than we did last Saturday at Baylor.
Their defense is going to be better than what we just played. The offense will need to grind out the clock and score. We won’t be seeing the porous defense we saw last week that gave up the ridiculous number of yardage and TD’s. Yes, our o line is a special kind of nasty, but K-State’s defense can stop the run.
Vegas is usually pretty good at setting their lines, but some of us can care less about them.
I don’t know how you phrased your question but I asked ChatGPT “Who is winning the Utah Kansas State football game this weekend?” and it said Utah is a clear favorite and it’s predictive model gives Utah an 87% chance of winning with a score of about 34-18.
The oddsmakers have a real challenge this time of the season - which teams out of conference or CFP contention will actually show up and play?
In our Baylor game, their D was atrocious, especially against the run. (The post-game consensus is Dave Aranda is absolutely toast. Everyone has bailed on him. It’s really bad.)
In the BYU game, TCU’s QB Josh Hoover was lighting up other players on the sidelines… in the first quarter. They played like a team that didn’t really want to be there. Where was the team who beat the UNC Belichicks? Not in Provo last Saturday.
How in the world do you handicap that variable?
A good coach will have his team playing hard, no matter the circumstances. Example: Kyle Whittingham in 2024
The Utes have now won eight games by an average margin of 35.25 points, and their narrowest conference win is 27 points (@Baylor). K-State is not going to be any closer than that… I’ll take the Utes to cover 17.5 all day.
I went back to ChatGPT again and got a breakdown of all the scenarios that might lead to the Utes being in the CFP. There are so many moving parts that it’s almost mind-numbing to evaluate them all. Winning out is the only path that allows the team any control.
That said, here is what AI has as its bottom line for the Utes:
My summary of what to root for (for Utah fans)
• Root for: Utah wins out (both remaining conference games)
• Root for: BYU loses at least one (preferably two) of its remaining games
• Root for: Cincinnati beats BYU
• Root for: Arizona State and/or Houston lose at least one more game
• Root for: Big losses by other top teams so the “at-large” route remains alive if Utah
doesn’t make the championship game
Basically, we need a 3-way (or more) tiebreaker INCLUDING Cinci, all at 7-2 to get to CCG (and win and we are in, tall order as TTU very good).
If Cinci is 6-3 (beat BYU, lose to TCU), other 3±way tiebreakers (with BYU 7-2) favor 7-2 ASU into CCG, leaving 10-2 Utah and 10-2 BYU trying to get an at-large. H2H, BYU would have the advantage (and SOR), but some analytics favor Utah, hence why we are so high.
If we lose CCG and go 10-3, needs to be close, but only then do we maybe make CFP and other stuff likely needs to happen (shouldn’t penalize a CCG loss, but could be first one out).
If we go 10-2 and don’t make CCG, there is a smaller probability that we could sneak in if ND, Oregon, etc. drop another game, either paving a way for a 3rd Big12 team (likely would just be pushed out by another 10-2 SEC team) or replacing 11-2 BYU if the CCG game was a bad loss (but never has an 11-win team been left out).
I don’t know who Jobu is in your reference, but every time I hear that name now I think of the movie everything everywhere all at once where the villain was named it Jobu Tupaki. Just goes to show what an impact that movie actually had.
What the Oddsmakers and Models Are Saying
Bottom Line