No. 14 Utah (5-2, 3-1) at Washington State (4-3, 1-3)
Kickoff: 8 p.m. MDT
Venue: Martin Stadium
TV: FS1
Livestream: https://www.foxsports.com
Radio: KALL 700
Series: Utah leads 10-9
Weather: Partly cloudy skies with temperatures dipping into the 30s during the game.
The Trends
For Utah: The Utes have won three consecutive games against Washington State, but the last time Utah played the Cougars in Pullman, in 2018, the Utes lost 28-24. Thursday marks Utah’s 100th game as members of the Pac-12. The Utes are 10-4 in weeknight games since joining the Power Five league. Also, coach Kyle Whittingham aiming for his 150th career victory Thursday and it marks Utah’s 100th game as member of the Pac-12.
For Washington State: The Cougars won their first three games of the season, including an upset at Wisconsin, but they’ve lost three of their last four games. WSU has scored only 24 points in its last two contests.
What to watch for
Both Utah and Washington State are coming off bye weeks, although the Utes and Cougars had much different experiences in their previous games. While Utah earned a dramatic 43-42 victory at home over USC, WSU suffered a 24-10 loss at Oregon State.
The Utes are 1-2 on the road this season, with losses at Florida on Sept. 3 and at UCLA on Oct. 8.
Utah, which is in the middle of the Pac-12 race, needs a victory Thursday to remain in contention.
Key player
Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward looks for a receiver during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Oregon, Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, in Pullman, Wash.
Young Kwak, Associated Press
Cameron Ward, quarterback Washington State: The Incarnate Word dual-threat transfer has completed 175 of 275 passes for 1,962 yards with 16 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Quotable
“Offensively, they’re very similar to the scheme we saw against the Trojans … which I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing for us. There’s a lot of carryover. … It will be a test for our secondary.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
“We need to try and find a way to get our playmakers the ball as much as possible. That’s what we’re trying to do, moving (wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling inside). But I think there’s also a scheme emphasis of getting a big body in there. So we can work more of the middle of the field and we can work more down the field in the seam.” — Washington State coach Jake Dickert
Next up
Utah hosts Arizona on Nov. 5.
Washington State visits Stanford on Nov. 5.
Utah schedule
Sept. 3 — Florida 29, Utah 26
Sept. 10 — Utah 73, Southern Utah 7
Sept. 17 — Utah 35, San Diego State 7
Sept. 24 — Utah 34, Arizona State 13
Oct. 1 — Utah 42, Oregon State 16
Oct. 8 — UCLA 42, Utah 32
Oct. 15 — Utah 43, USC 42
Oct. 27 — at Washington State (8 p.m., MDT, FS1)
Nov. 5 — vs. Arizona (TBD)
Nov. 12 — vs. Stanford (TBD)
Nov. 19 — at Oregon (TBD)
Nov. 26 — at Colorado (TBD)
All times MT.