The Utah Utes look to keep pace in the race for the Pac-12 South championship this Saturday with what could be a tough test on the road at Oregon State.
The 15th-ranked Utes (4-1 overall, 1-1 in Pac-12) will be two weeks removed from an impressive 38-13 win over Washington State on Sept. 28, in which senior quarterback Tyler Huntley passed for a season-high 334 yards and threw two touchdown passes.
Huntley also rushed for two scores and surpassed former NFL first overall draft pick Alex Smith for sixth most in passing yards and fifth most in total yards in Utah history.
The bye week also gave running back Zack Moss time to rest his injured shoulder, and the Utes’ rushing leader seems to be on track to return after missing the Washington State game.
Moss, a senior, is 176 yards from becoming Utah’s all-time leading rusher, and he’s averaging 6.2 yards per carry this season.
“We’re fairly confident we’ll get Zack back for the next game and that’ll make us that much more potent running the ball,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham told the Deseret News. “When he’s not there, the other guys have got to pick up the slack, which they did.”
Without Moss, Utah totaled 192 rushing yards against Washington State. On defense, the Utes have seven interceptions and have been stubborn against the run.
The Utes are fourth in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game (53.8) and have allowed 72 total points in five games (14.4 points per game allowed). But they will be facing a confident Oregon State team that has turned things around after two nonconference losses to open the season.
The Beavers (2-3, 1-1) are coming off a 48-31 road win at UCLA on Saturday, and find themselves in the thick of the race for the Pac-12 North title.
A win this Saturday against No. 15 Utah would be the Beavers’ first against an FBS opponent at Reser Stadium since the 2016 finale against Oregon.
Senior quarterback Jake Luton tied a school record with six total touchdowns against the Bruins, a game in which the Beavers took a 21-0 lead and stayed in front the rest of the way.
Luton has yet to be intercepted in 161 pass attempts this season.
“He’s making some great decisions with it,” head coach Jonathan Smith told The Oregonian. “He’s getting some help, too, with our protections.
“He’s really improved his game from last year. I think he’s playing with a ton of confidence, and he’s got a ton of confidence in the guys around him.”
Another weapon for the Beavers is wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins, whose nine touchdown catches are tied for second most in the nation. Hodgins also ranks fifth in receiving yards with 632, and second in receptions per game with 8.6 on 43 catches.
Hodgins made three touchdowns catches in the win over UCLA.
Utah is the conference’s leader in rushing yards per game at 223.4, but Oregon State averages almost six points more per game on offense (37 to 31.4).
