CORVALLIS, Ore. — Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig knows what the Utes are facing in tonight's season opener at Oregon State.
From 2002-04, he directed Oregon's offense — coaching the Ducks in three "Civil Wars" against the Beavers.
"The biggest thing is the great homefield advantage it is," said Ludwig, who acknowledged the Utes will have to overcome the crowd noise and adversity they'll face at newly expanded Reser Stadium. "Provo was loud a couple of years ago, but these fans are right on top of you."
That part of Utah's third consecutive opener against a Pac-10 opponent is known. The Utes prepared for it by practicing with crowd noise blaring over speakers near the field.
Just about everything else, though, is more of an educated guess.
Questions abound on both sides.
How will Utah quarterback Brian Johnson fare in his first game since suffering a serious injury in 2005?
What about Oregon State's plan to let sophomore quarterbacks Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevao start the first and second quarters, respectively?
Will the Utes get a ground game established with Matt Asiata, Ray Stowers and Darryl Poston auditioning for the most carries at tailback?
Can Oregon State prevail without All-American receiver Sammie Stroughter, who isn't expected to play after dealing with grief issues? Is running back Yvenson Bernard the real deal?
"There's so many unknowns in an opener," said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham.
Oregon State coach Mike Riley acknowledged there's a lot of things to do.
"In our preparation, we have to be ready for quite a large variety of stuff," he said. "And we have to be able to block it, and protect it and be efficient in reading the defenses and throwing the football and catching it."
The first meeting between the Utes and Beavers since 1992 is laced with intrigue.
"The season opener is always exciting, and playing a team the caliber of Oregon State right out of the gate tends to get players and fans alike even more charged up," Whittingham said. "Playing a Pac-10 school is always a challenge, but one that our players and coaches look forward to."
Especially, it stands to reason, if a little fuel is poured on the fire.
It happened Monday when Canfield took a shot at the Utes.
"I don't think we are so much worried about them. Offensively, we would like to attack the defense," Canfield said. "Every week we see things on film that we can exploit."
When told of the comments, Whittingham had little to say in response.
"OK. He's exuding confidence, I guess — which is a good quality in a quarterback," he said. "Yeah, that's good."
Earlier in the week, Whittingham said the Utes have an air of confidence about them.
"We have a great attitude, and this team has shown a lot of leadership and a lot of unity. In fact, I've seen more of that this year than I have seen in the last two years," he explained. "They're a close-knit group. Will it mean more wins? I don't know. We're playing as a team. There are no individuals here. Of course, we have players with star appeal, but everyone is playing together as a team."
It may take a team effort to topple Oregon State. The Beavers have won 22 consecutive home games against nonconference opponents and are coming off a 10-4 season, a campaign that featured a victory over national powerhouse USC.
"We feel that our guys are ready to go," Whittingham said. "We've been erring on keeping our guys fresh during camp and hopefully that pays dividends."
EXTRA POINTS: Oregon State leads the all-time series 8-4-1 ... The Beavers have two preseason all-Americans on the offensive line — guards Jeremy Perry and Roy Schuening ... Whittingham is 15-10 overall after two seasons as Utah's head coach. Riley enters his seventh season at Oregon State with a 38-34 mark ... OSU defensive tackle Sioeli Nau is a Spanish Fork and Snow College alum ... This is just one of two openers in the nation featuring bowl teams from last season (Utah won the Armed Forces Bowl, while Oregon State prevailed in the Sun Bowl). Oklahoma State at Georgia is the other one.
Season opener
Utah at Oregon St.
Today, 8 p.m.
Reser Stadium
TV: FSN Radio: 700AM
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com