Washington at Utah is colossal, a matchup made for, well, ESPN GameDay lore.
Will it live up to expectations?
Take it to the bank.
Under Kyle Whittingham, the Utes have proven to be tough, physical and stingy on defense. While their offense has been spotty in the Pac-12 with rotating assistant coaches, this year Utah appears to have a formula that works: Keep the ball for 12 more minutes than the other guys and wait for the defense to force turnovers.
At Washington, Chris Petersen has brought the Boise State coaching edge in execution to Seattle. His team is explosive on offense, dangerous defensively. Against Jake Browning, the Utes encounter the most dangerous QB they’ve faced all season. A multiple-TD-throwing machine that rarely throws a pick.
Here’s the rub.
If you believe Utah will win, you must be sold on the idea Joe Williams will continue his post-retirement romp against Washington, although this is a UW defense that now has plenty of film on Williams and tackle Garett Bolles, whose trap blocking was effectively deployed against Oregon State and UCLA.
If you think Washington avoids an upset, you have to accept that the Huskies' weak schedule — teams with losing records — has adequately prepared Petersen’s team for the physicality Utah will bring.
Go with Utah and you’ll have to believe the Ute defense that has struggled stopping passes the past two weeks will suddenly stop Browning, an upper-tier strong-armed touch passer who can read and deliver. And you’ll have to believe Utah’s weak schedule against teams with losing records has prepared Ute defenders for Browning.
Pick Washington and you are sold on Utah being the luckiest Pac-12 team of the season, even with their own injuries. You’d assert Utah dodged bullets against BYU, when confused Taysom Hill blockers took on the same guy in a last-second two-point conversion; that a Ute win over USC came when the Trojans were at the height of disorganization and futility; that Josh Rosen was AOL in the win over a decimated UCLA team; and that Oregon State could have won if they’d had any kind of offense in its last two possessions in Corvallis.
Stick with Utah’s upset bid and you believe Utah’s defense will get turnovers, that Troy Williams will continue to deliver his Pac-12-leading number of 40-plus yard pass plays against the Huskies, a top-five team.
This is what is so enjoyable about the Pac-12. This league tends to cannibalize itself, and one never knows what zombie will reappear.
This is a league that’s rocked. Traditional favorites in the North are Oregon and Stanford, yet Washington State and Washington have replaced them atop the standings.
In the South, you have traditional and preseason favorites USC and UCLA struggling, while league newcomers Utah and Colorado look to compete for the divisional title.
Washington beat Oregon State 41-17; Oregon State beat California 47-44 and California beat Utah 28-23.
The more you look at things and try to figure them out, the more you are likely to be wrong.
Week 9 picks:
Louisville 42, Virginia 17: Like everyone else, Cavs will struggle to stop Lamar Jackson.
West Virginia 38, Oklahoma State 27: Cowboys can’t stop Skyler Howard.
Michigan 42, Michigan State 14: No weird punt plays this time.
Cincinnati 37, Temple 30: Cincy’s pass acumen proves the difference.
Baylor 44, Texas 31: The Bears have too much firepower for the Longhorns.
Arizona 33, Stanford 21: Stanford scored just five points against Colorado.
Boise State 38, Wyoming 31: Should be a great showdown.
Arizona State 28, Oregon 21: Ducks' demise continues versus Devils.
Washington State 42, Oregon State 21: Mike Leach only needs captains.
Washington 34, Utah 31: Utes face best QB challenge of season.
Last week 10-1; Overall 58-40 (.591).
EMAIL: dharmon@deseretnews.com.
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