Utah is looking to remain undefeated as the Utes has another tough conference game at home against Stanford. To get a good idea in what to expect Saturday night here's what's buzzing in the Stanford media.
Utah-Stanford has a brief history
Utah and Stanford may not be traditional rivals, yet both teams share quite a history according to Rule of Tree of SB Nation. Their first meeting was Nov. 27 1902. It was the first time Stanford ever traveled to Salt Lake City, and it was the Utes’ first time playing a California team. Stanford would get the first victory 30-11 final.
In the 1920s Stanford, along with other teams in California, had taken off as a powerhouse in college football. Utah was still in the smaller division. When both team faced each other again in 1924, Stanford shut out the Utes 30-0. Fast forward 65 years, both teams reunited in 1989 at Stanford Stadium.
It was that year when Utah earned its first victory over the Cardinal in a tough battle 27-24. Both would later face again in 1995 and 1996 — the last time as nonconfernce foes. After Utah moved into the Pac-12, Stanford and Utah didn’t cross paths until 2013. Utah leads the all-time series 4-3 after beating the Cardinal two years straight.
Bryce, Bryce Baby
People are still recovering from the 300 yards and three touchdown performance by Stanford’s leading back Bryce Love. Tom Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Chronicle breaks down each of Love’s touchdown runs in their 34-24 win over Arizona State. Five games in, Love has already rushed for more than 1,000 yards, leading the nation, and has climbed his way to the Heisman Trophy discussion.
A QB dilemma for Stanford, Utah
Stanford, just like Utah, is dealing with quarterback issues after its original starter Keller Chryst had an undisclosed injury that kept him out last week in its win over ASU. According to Vytas Mazeika of Mercury News, Chryst has to earn back the starting role after being replaced by freshman K.J. Costello.
And just like Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham dealing with both Tyler Huntley and Troy Williams, Cardinal head coach David Shaw is doing the wait-and-see approach. At 3-2 (2-1 in Pac-12), Chryst started the first four games. Against UCLA, the senior went down in the first quarter and didn’t play for the rest of the night.
His backup, Ryan Burns, replaced Chryst for one series. Costello then stepped in to replace Burns and led the Stanford offense the entire game with three touchdowns in the 58-34 win over the Bruins.
Costello got his first start against Arizona State a week later. Even though he threw for just 173 yards and one touchdown that night, he didn’t have to do too much because he had Love in the backfield. Love rushed for 301 yards that game in their 34-24 win over the Sun Devils. With both coaches not knowing who will start Saturday night, Shaw and Whittingham listed both their QBs as the potential starter.
Best game to watch in the Pac-12 ... on paper
As we approach week six of college football, Jon Wilner of Mercury News breaks down each Pac-12 matchups for this Saturday. He says the Stanford-Utah game is the matchup to watch.
Wilner has the Utes making a statement with a win over the Cardinal. Despite being 4-0, each of Utah’s wins were unconvincing due to the lack of competition. A win over Stanford could give the No. 20 Utes a boost as a contender in the Pac-12 South division at 2-0 in conference.