No. 16 Utah (4-1, 1-1 Pac-12) vs. Cal (3-3, 1-2)
Kickoff: Saturday, 1 p.m. MDT.
Venue: Rice-Eccles Stadium.
TV: Pac-12 Network.
Livestream: https://pac-12.com/live.
Radio: ESPN 700 AM/92.1 FM.
Series: Tied 6-6.
Weather: Sunny with temperatures in the low 60s at kickoff.
The trends
For Utah: Utah started 4-0 with wins over Florida, Baylor, Weber State and UCLA before dropping its first game of the season against Oregon State.
For Cal: Cal is 1-2 in its last three games, losing to Washington before beating Arizona State. The Bears are also coming off a loss to the Beavers.
What to watch for
Cal is starting its third different quarterback this season. Freshman Fernando Mendoza, making his first start, threw for 207 yards and two touchdowns and had one interception, completing 21 of 32 passes in a 52-40 loss to the Beavers. He also added 41 yards on four rushes. The freshman did fairly well against an Oregon State defense that held Utah to seven points and 141 passing yards.
Rice-Eccles Stadium is a notoriously hard place for freshmen quarterbacks to play, coupled with Utah’s excellent defense, which has almost single-handedly won it games this season. It will be a big test for Mendoza on Saturday.
Key player
Jaydn Ott, Cal running back: The sophomore running back leads Cal’s No. 11-ranked rushing offense. Ott, who is probable for the Utah game, has 556 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 96 carries. Senior Isaiah Ifanse, who has 348 yards and seven touchdowns on 61 carries, is also a big factor for the Bears.
Quotable
“Cal, they’re much improvement on offense this year, averaging over 400 yards and 30 points a game. Very balanced. The rushing and passing yardage is very similar.” — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham
“Utah has a great team. We know they’re going to be physical, too. They’ve got good players.” — Cal coach Justin Wilcox
Next up
Utah: at USC on Oct. 21.
Cal: vs. USC on Oct. 28.
Utah schedule
Aug. 31 — Utah 24, Florida 11.
Sept. 9 — Utah 20, Baylor 13.
Sept. 16 — Utah 31, Weber State 7.
Sept. 23 — Utah 14, UCLA 7.
Sept. 29 — Oregon State 21, Utah 7
Oct. 14 — vs. California (1 p.m. MDT, Pac-12 Network).
Oct. 21 — at USC (6 p.m. MDT, Fox).
Oct. 28 — vs. Oregon.
Nov. 4 — vs. Arizona State.
Nov. 11 — at Washington.
Nov. 18 — at Arizona.
Nov. 25 — vs. Colorado.