Washington head coach Chris Petersen paid high praise to the Rice-Eccles Stadium crowd, complimenting the atmosphere at the 45,807-seat stadium during his postgame press conference after the Huskies defeated North Dakota 45-3 at Husky Stadium.
"I think it (Rice-Eccles Stadium) is underappreciated, not by coaches and players. We think we were in a hostile environment last Saturday (against Auburn); it won't even be comparable — I know that. A night game there (at Rice-Eccles Stadium), I know how that goes. It will be good, that's college football. It will be a challenging venue to go into," Petersen said.
At his weekly press conference on Monday, Petersen continued his praise of the Utes' crowd.
"All you can do is prepare (the team) for the noise, which we use every day in practice, whether we're home or away. It's what college football should be all about. They do a great job over there, care about their football a lot," Petersen said.
Tyler Huntley gets high marks from Pro Football Focus
Pro Football Focus released its Pac-12 passing grades from week two. Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley claimed a spot near the top of the list, with a passing grade of 84.9, trailing only Oregon State's Conor Blount, who had a passing grade of 92.8.
Against Northern Illinois, Huntley was 20-of-31, throwing for 286 yards, including a 48-yard pass to Britain Covey and a 41-yard strike to Jaylen Dixon.
Other links:
SB Nation's Washington blog, the UW Dawg Pound, previews Utah's offense
The Athletic went behind-the-scenes with Northern Illinois before and during its game against Utah
And finally...
University of Utah athletic director Mark Harlan has a simple directive for this Saturday's blackout game against Washington.