Utah (4-2, 3-0 Pac-12) at Oregon State (4-2, 2-1 Pac-12)
- Kickoff: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. MDT
- Venue: Reser Stadium (43,154 capacity)
- TV: Pac-12 Network
- Livestream: Pac-12 Network
- Radio: ESPN 700 AM
- Series: Tied, 11-11-1
- Weather: Cloudy with temperatures in the mid 50s at kickoff.
THE TRENDS
For Oregon State … After losing to Purdue in its opening game, Oregon State reeled off four consecutive wins, including beating USC and Washington, before losing to Washington State last week.
For Utah … Utah has won its first three conference games, beating Washington State, USC and Arizona State.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Will Utah’s run defense be able to contain Oregon State’s rushing attack? The Utes’ defensive front has been huge in Utah’s three Pac-12 wins. Utah allowed just 70 yards of rushing against Washington State and 92 yards of rushing against USC. ASU did have success running the ball in the first half against Utah, gaining 131 yards, but the Utes held the Sun Devils to just 17 rushing yards in the second half.
It’ll be another test for Utah’s run defense as Oregon State leads the Pac-12 in rushing yards at 242.5 yards per game.
Leading that rushing attack is B.J. Baylor with 678 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Deshaun Fenwick is the secondary back with 318 yards and three touchdowns and the third option is Trey Lowe, who has rushed for 121 yards this season.
Quarterback Chance Nolan is also a threat to run and has rushed for 191 yards this season, third on the team.
KEY PLAYER
B.J. Baylor. RB, Oregon State: Baylor has been one of the best running back in the conference thus far this season. He’s rushed for 678 yards — second-best in the Pac-12 and nine touchdowns — tied for first in the Pac-12. He leads the conference in average yards per carry at 6.8. Running is Oregon State’s strength on offense, and an experienced offensive line has been key in getting Baylor going.
QUOTABLE
“Oregon State is a good football team. Really good football team. Running the heck out of the football, leading the Pac-12 by a considerable margin running the football. Two good backs that are really productive. It starts with their offensive line. Their offensive line is playing exceptional football. That’s something that we’ve got to try to take care of this week, and slow them down in their run game. Their quarterback’s playing well. They’re leading the conference in scoring, as well as rushing, as well as third-down conversions. When you run the football that well, it lends itself to a lot of third-and-shorts, which they’re taking advantage of. Big challenge, it’s on the road, tough place to play up there in Corvallis. But we’ll hopefully have a good week of practice and be ready to go.”
— Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham on Oregon State
“Utah is probably playing as good as anybody in the league right now, got a bunch of respect for the program. Still, thoughts and prayers with that program with the tragic adversity they’ve gone through. Coach (Kyle) Whittingham has been doing it at a really high level for a long time and and we know we got a challenge coming in here Saturday.”
— Oregon State head coach Jonathan Smith on preparing for Utah
NEXT UP
Utah hosts UCLA on Oct. 30; Oregon State travels to Cal on Oct. 30.
UTAH SCHEDULE
Sept. 2 — Utah 40, Weber State 17
Sept. 11 — BYU 26, Utah 17
Sept. 18 — San Diego State 33, Utah 31 (3OT)
Sept. 25 — Washington State (12:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
Oct. 2 — Utah 24, Washington State 13
Oct. 9 — Utah 42, USC 26
Oct. 16 — Utah 35, Arizona State 21
Oct. 23 — at Oregon State (5:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
Oct. 30 — UCLA
Nov. 5 — at Stanford (8:30 p.m., FS1)
Nov. 13 — at Arizona
Nov. 20 — Oregon
Nov. 26 — Colorado
All times MT