After a restful week, the Utah Utes are back in action against the Stanford Cardinal. The Utes will host their conference foe Saturday at 8:15 p.m. MST.
Here is a quick rundown of the six numbers to know for this weekend’s matchup.
18
Utah is looking like it is back to the old reliable. The Utes currently boast the nation’s 18th-ranked scoring defense while allowing just over 17 points per game. The Utes defense faces a tough test this weekend as Stanford has the nation’s 24th-ranked scoring offense with 39 points per game. Something is sure to give, and after a bye week, expect the Ute defense to be ready for the Cardinal offense.
1,088
In preparing for Stanford’s offense, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff certainly made a point to mention Bryce Love. The Cardinal running back is having quite the start to his year. Love currently leads the nation with 1,088 rushing yards. An impressive feat after just five games of play, and the Cardinal offense is revolving around his ability to run the ball. Love is a big-play threat every time he touches the football. He currently has 18 runs of 20 yards or more. The only FBS team with more 20-yard runs than Love has is Notre Dame. Love’s nine longest runs of the season accumulate to 520 yards. His nine longest runs are more than 24 FBS teams have as a combined unit.
1,254
A little history fact about Cardinal football: In Stanford’s first 1,254 games it had one player rush for over 250 yards in a single contest. Bryce Love has now accomplished this feat in back-to-back games. The latter of the two games, was an impressive 301-yard performance against the Arizona State Sun Devils. Love is toting an 11.1 yards per carry average on the season. His “worst” performance came against the UCLA Bruins when he only averaged 8.8 yards per carry. Love has broken a 50-yard run in every game this season. Look for the Heisman candidate to get plenty of touches this Saturday.
88.82
Love’s success has helped the Cardinal offense immensely. However, the Cardinal pass game is no slouch. The total offense efficiency rating is 88.82 out of 100. That is good for fourth in the nation. For comparison, Utah’s offense efficiency rating is 38.85, good for 94th in the nation. Utah does boast the 20th-ranked defensive efficiency ranking with a 77.28 rating. If the Utes are to be successful, the defense must control the line of scrimmage and capitalize on any mistakes the Cardinal offense makes.
14
Utah can always rely on special teams to help dictate the game. Place-kicker Matt Gay is showing the nation that Mitch Wishnowsky is not the only reliable leg in Utah. Gay currently leads the nation in field-goals made with 14. He is also leading the nation in points scored per game with 14. Gay is also perfect on the year at 14-14 (knock on wood). Gay is trusty and he has been a vital part of our scoring offense with 3.5 field goals per game. Hopefully, Utah can punch a few touchdowns in this weekend to give Gay’s leg a well-deserved rest.
115
Utah should have plenty of opportunities to move the ball this weekend. Stanford currently ranks 115th in the nation on defensive third-down conversions. The Cardinal defense has allowed 33 conversions on 71 attempts. Utah should have plenty of opportunities to extend drives and move the ball down the field. For comparison, Utah is 36th in the nation allowing only 20 first downs on 63 attempts.
Prediction: Love breaks his 50-yard streak and the Utes’ defense wins the game: Utah 27, Stanford 21.
Cameron Wood is a graduate of Weber State University and a teacher and coach at St. Joseph Catholic High School in Ogden, Utah. Email: cwood@stjosephutah.com. Follow on twitter @camwood03.