SALT LAKE CITY — Washington is still Washington. That’s Utah’s take on the defending Pac-12 champion Huskies, who are off to a disappointing 5-3 start (including a 2-3 mark in Pac-12 play) to the season.
The ninth-ranked Utes expect a “big challenge” in the rematch of last year’s conference championship game. The teams meet Saturday (2 p.m., Fox) at Husky Stadium.
“They are a good football team. I know they dropped some games this year, but they’ve got talent,” said Utah coach Kyle Whittingham. “They have a big, strong quarterback (Georgia transfer Jacob Eason) that’s got a big arm. Tremendous receivers, running back, lines are solid. They’re the Huskies and they’ve got as good of talent as anybody in the league for certain. I think we’ve only won once there since we’ve been in the Pac-12, so we got our work cut out for us.”
“They’re the Huskies and they’ve got as good of talent as anybody in the league for certain.” — Kyle Whittingham
Indeed. Utah is just 1-12 all-time against Washington, including a 1-6 mark since the teams have been in the Pac-12. That includes a 10-3 decision in the 2018 title game. The lone victory by the Utes came in Seattle, a 34-23 triumph in Seattle.
Now comes what Whittingham called a new challenge and a new opportunity — one that Utah and its highly ranked offense and defense may be able to cash in on. Washington enters the game in fourth place in the Pac-12 North. The Huskies went 3-0 in nonconference play, defeating Eastern Washington (47-14), Hawaii (52-10) and BYU (45-19). Pac-12 games, though, have been a mixed bag. They prevailed against USC (28-14) and Arizona (51-27), but fell to California (20-19), Stanford (23-13) and Oregon (35-31). The losses to the Bears and Ducks came in Seattle.
The latter was followed by a reflective bye week that precedes the Utes’ visit.
“We broke down every game. Every single game we looked at — backwards, forwards, sideways. That’s what the bye week does,” said Washington coach Chris Petersen. “The coaches don’t sit around. ... It’s a grind. We’ve looked at all our tapes, all of our situations, special teams, everything.”
Petersen added that’s a little bit of the beauty of having a bye week. Eason noted the focus this time around.
“We’re always going to practice hard. Coach Petersen talked to us about us and nobody else,” said Eason, who explained that the Huskies go in each day with a clean slate. “That loss to Oregon before the bye week stung, but you can’t dwell on that. We’re preparing for Utah, and our team brings the lunch pail every day and gets ready to work. That’s what is great about these guys. It doesn’t matter what our record is or what the scoreboard says. We’re going to work hard.”
After eight games, Washington ranks among the Pac-12 leaders in numerous categories. The Huskies are first in net punting (42.71 yards); third in scoring offense (35.8 points), turnover margin (0.75), third-down conversion defense (36.3 percent) and fewest penalty yards per game (52.0); and fourth in rushing offense (172.0 yards), team passing efficiency (158.39 rating), total defense (372.4 yards), passing yards allowed (224.8 yards), team passing efficiency defense (119.87 rating), red zone offense (91.4 percent), fewest penalties per game (6.25) and time of possession (30:09).
Eason, a junior, paces the offense. He’s completed 157 of 233 passes for 1,981 yards with 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Running back Salvon Ahmed has a team-high 662 yards rushing, while wide receiver Aaron Fuller and tight end Hunter Bryant top the squad with 40 and 30 catches, respectively.
Defensively, the Huskies are led by Myles Bryant (51 tackles) and Elijah Molden (10 pass breakups), Cameron Williams (3 interceptions) and Trent McDuffie (2 fumble recoveries) in the secondary. Benning Potoa’e (6.0 tackles for loss) anchors the defensive line. The linebacker corps is led by Brandon Wellington (2 fumble recoveries)
Kicker Peyton Henry and punter Joel Whitford are other weapons of note. Henry has made all 15 of his field goal attempts this season. Whitford is averaging 44.8 yards per punt.
Utes on the air
No. 9/10 Utah (7-1, 4-1) at Washington (5-3, 2-3)
Husky Stadium — Seattle
Saturday, 2 p.m. (Mountain)
TV: Fox
Radio: ESPN 700AM