Here is a quick look at how the Cougars and Utes measure up by position heading into Saturday's game at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
QUARTERBACK
Tanner Mangum
Utah — The Utes still don’t know exactly what they have in Tyler Huntley, who fared admirably in his starting debut against North Dakota. He’s only a sophomore and has never played against BYU, let alone on the road. He hopes to do better than the man he beat out for the starting QB job, Troy Williams, who threw three interceptions in last year’s game against the Cougars.
BYU — Tanner Mangum is still remembered for those Hail Mary passes back in 2015 when he came on in relief of an injured Taysom Hill and played the rest of the season. He didn’t fare so well in his one appearance against the Utes in the 2015 Las Vegas Bowl and is off to a slow start this year, but he's still an accurate passer who is dangerous if he can get it going.
Edge: BYU
RUNNING BACKS
Utah — Sophomore Zack Moss looked sharp rushing for 128 yards last week. Although the Utes will be without injured Armand Shyne for an extended period, they do have senior Troy McCormick, who peeled off a 43-yard run last week and also caught two passes. Jordan Howard is No. 2 on the depth chart but had only two rushes last week.
BYU — Without reliable Jamal Williams, the Cougars are manning the running back position by committee. Squally Canada is the main guy and after picking up 98 yards against Portland State, he managed just eight yards against LSU. Two other backs, Kavika Fonua and KJ Hall, had to leave last week’s game with injuries and the Cougars will really be shorthanded if they are out this week.
Edge: Utah
RECEIVERS
Darren Carrington II
Utah — The Utes have one of the best receivers in the country in Darren Carrington II, the former Oregon standout who caught 10 passes for 127 yards in his Ute debut last week. The Utes feel they have a bunch of other top receivers and need guys like Raelon Singleton, Samson Nacua, Demari Simpkins and Siaosi Wilson to step up this week.
BYU — This position has been a disappointment so far this year. The top returning receiver, Jonah Trinnaman, has just one catch for 12 yards on the season. Freshman tight end Matt Bushman has a fourth of all the team’s receptions with seven, followed by Talon Shumway and Aleva Hifo with five.
Edge: Utah
OFFENSIVE LINE
Tejan Koroma
Utah — After losing four starters to the NFL, the Utes basically started over this year with only four-year starter Salesi Uhatafe returning. Left tackle Jackson Barton has some experience, while Darrin Paulo, Lo Falemaka and Jordan Agasiva all made their first career starts last week.
BYU — Tejan Koroma has been a fixture at center for the past four years and he’s joined by seniors Keyan Norman and Tuni Kanuch at guards and sophomore Thomas Shoaf and 6-foot-8 junior Austin Hoyt at tackles. They’ll be expected to open up some holes to get the Cougar running attack going.
Edge: BYU
DEFENSIVE LINE
Lowell Lotulelei
Utah — The Utes always have a solid D-line and this year is no exception with the likes of Kylie Fitts, Filipo Mokofisi, Lowell Lotulelei as well as youngsters Bradlee Anae, Leki Fotu, Pita Tonga and Maxs Tupai.
BYU — After sitting out last season, Sione Takitaki is back at defensive end along with former basketball player Corbin Kaufusi. Manning the middle of the line is former Snow College standout Handsome Tanielu along with Kesni Tausinga, a returning part-time starter.
Edge: Utah
LINEBACKERS
Utah — Senior Sunia Tauteoli, who had an interception for a touchdown on the first play of the game in last year’s game against BYU, led the Utes with 10 tackles in the opener, while Cody Barton had seven. Kavika Luafatasaga went out with an injury and his status is uncertain for this week.
BYU — Fred Warner is the top player on the defense, leading the team with 86 tackles last year and 18 tackles in two games this year. He has adjusted to Kalani Sitake’s 4-3 setup and is joined by returning starter Butch Pau’u and senior Matt Hadley, who took over when Francis Bernard was forced to redshirt.
Edge: BYU
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Chase Hansen
Utah — Safety Chase Hansen is the only returning starter in the secondary and the newcomers played well against North Dakota. Sophomore cornerback Julian Blackmon snared an interception, Utah’s only turnover, and safeties Corrion Ballard and Casey Hughes were solid. Senior Boobie Hobbs plays a lot in the nickel package.
BYU — The Cougars will be without safety Micah Hannemann for the first half Saturday after he was ejected for a targeting in last week’s LSU game. Tanner Jacobsen will have to fill in. First-year starter Zayne Anderson is the free safety, while sophomores Troy Warner and Dayan Ghanwoloku are the corners, who will try to shut down Utah’s talented receiving corps.
Edge: Utah
SPECIAL TEAMS
Mitch Wishnowsky
Utah — The Utes have reigning Ray Guy Award-winning punter Mitch Wishnowsky, who punted only once last week (52-yarder) and they think they've found another diamond in the rough in placekicker Matt Gay, a former Utah Valley soccer player who was successful on all three of his field goal kicks and PAT attempts in his debut last week.
BYU — The Cougars have good experience with both punter Jonny Linehan and placekicker Rhett Almond returning from last year. Linehan is solid as long as he doesn’t try to run from his own end zone, while Almond made 81 percent of his field-goal tries last year and is 2 of 3 this year.
Edge: Utah
COACHING
Utah — Kyle Whittingham, now in his 14th season as Ute head coach, has a 105-50 overall record and he's 8-3 against the team he played for 35 years ago.
BYU — Kalani Sitake lost in his only game against the team he used to coach for, and is 9-6 overall as the Cougar head man.
Edge: Utah
INTANGIBLES
Utah — The Utes have dominated the series in recent years with six straight victories since 2010, including two victories in Provo, 54-10 in 2011 and 20-13 in 2013, so they should feel confident playing the Cougars.
BYU — The Cougars have home-field advantage — such as it is, considering the visiting team has won 10 of the last 20 games in the series. BYU may have a little more motivation, considering this is one of its biggest games of the season and they don’t want the losing streak against the U. to extend another year.
Edge: BYU