Southern Utah (1-0) at No. 13 Utah (0-1)

  • Kickoff: Saturday, 11:30 a.m. MDT
  • Venue: Rice-Eccles Stadium
  • TV: Pac-12 Network
  • Radio: KALL 700
  • Series: 1-0, Utah. The Utes beat SUU 24-0 in 2016 in Salt Lake City
  • Weather: Sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s

The trends

For Utah: Coming off a heartbreaking 29-26 loss at Florida last weekend, the Utes fell six spots in The Associated Press rankings to No. 13. Utah is seeking its first victory of the season in its home opener. The Utes have won eight consecutive home games. 

For SUU: The Thunderbirds got off to a strong start last week by whipping St. Thomas 44-13. This is the second all-time meeting between the two programs.

What to watch for

Remember when Pac-12 member Utah belonged in the Western Athletic Conference? Well now SUU is part of the WAC. This marks the Thunderbirds’ first season in the WAC.

Utah is looking to rebound after a three-point loss at The Swamp. There’s plenty of room for improvement, particularly in terms of red-zone efficiency both on offense and on defense. And the Utes will try to turn in a much better performance defensively after 27 missed tackles against Florida.

Key player

Southern Utah quarterback Justin Miller prepares to throw a pass against Arizona State on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Tempe, Ariz. | Rick Scuteri, Associated Press

Justin Miller, QB, Southern Utah: Miller threw for 364 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Thunderbirds to a 44-13 thumping of University of St. Thomas last week in Cedar City. 

Quotable

“Nobody feels sorry for us, nobody cares. You’ve got to move forward and play the next game, win or lose. There’s no difference in the approach and practice and work habits. You’ve just got to continue to forge ahead. It’s a long season. It’s one in a 12-game season and you’ve got to be able to play every single week.”

— Utah coach Kyle Whittingham 

Next up

Utah hosts San Diego State next Saturday.  

Southern Utah visits Western Illinois next Saturday. 

Utah schedule

Sept. 3 — Florida 29, Utah 26

Sept. 10 — vs. Southern Utah (11:30 a.m., Pac-12 Network)

Sept. 17 — vs. San Diego State (8 p.m., ESPN2)

Sept. 24 — at Arizona State (TBD)

Oct. 1 — vs. Oregon State (TBD)

Oct. 5 — vs. Arizona (TBD)

Oct. 15 — vs. USC (TBD)

Oct. 27 — at Washington State (8 p.m., FS1)

Nov. 5 — vs. Arizona (TBD)

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Nov. 12 — vs. Stanford (TBD)

Nov. 19 — at Oregon (TBD)

Nov. 26 — at Colorado (TBD) 

All times MT

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