GAME PREVIEW: Utah vs. Oregon State

SALT LAKE CITY — The Oregon State Beavers visit the Utes in Salt Lake City desperately needing a win. The Beavers need to win out in order to make a bowl game. The team on the opposite sideline may be just as desperate, looking for their first Pac-12 conference win ever. Here’s what to expect in this battle between two teams with their backs against the wall.

What did we learn about the Utes from their game against Cal last week?

• You can’t win consistently in college football without a quality quarterback. Jon Hays has looked very capable at times, but at other times he’s been flat-out inept.Hays would have had a hard time winning consistently in the Mountain West Conference the way he played on Saturday, never mind in the Pac-12.
• Turnovers have buried the Utes. As bad as the Utes looked on Saturday, they were in the game until Hays put the ball on the ground early in the second quarter. Right now, the Utes are barely competing without turning the ball over. With turnovers, they have no chance.
• The Ute defense is stellar, but has issues against the pass. The defensive secondary is young and inexperienced, and it is showing through right now. The defense has been tough against the run and the short passing game, but teams that like to throw vertically can score against the Utes.

What lingering questions do we still have about the Utes?

• Can Utah protect the passer? The offensive line looked outright ugly last week. Hays scrapes by when he has time to throw, but he stands no chance at not turning the ball over if he’s running around all day.
• Once again, is John White IV capable of carrying the load? He seems to surprise us week to week. One week, he’ll run all over one of the country’s best defenses; the next, he’ll struggle against a loaded box of linebackers. Maybe that’s not his fault, but the Utes will need to establish the run somehow if they are going to make a bowl game.
• How on earth does Utah only have one quarterback? Someone has to be held accountable for the lack of depth at the quarterback position. There’s no way a program like Utah can have a quarterback like Hays (who no other major FBS school wanted) as its backup quarterback, especially knowing Jordan Wynn is as fragile as he is.

• Another air attack. Oregon State knows the Utes' secondary is the weakness on the defense, but it doesn’t matter, they like to throw it regardless of who they are facing. The Beavers threw it 34 times last week against Washington State and 43 times two weeks ago against BYU. Expect more of the same on Saturday.
• The Beavers will force the pass. Oregon State saw the formula Cal used last week, and they should try to emulate it. Look for the Beavers to load the box and force Hays to throw it.

What can we expect from the Utes against Oregon State?

• A continued effort to establish the run. Oregon State gives up an average of 145 yards per game on the ground. Even BYU’s previously struggling running game was able to rush for almost 300 yards. The Cougars, however, had at least some sort of passing game.
• An attempt to pressure Beaver quarterback Sean Mannion. The Oregon State offense likes to throw the ball downfield — not good news for the Utes. If they want to stop the pass game of the Beavers, they’ll need to put some sort of pressure on Mannion.

• Oregon State leads the all-time series 9-5-1.
• The last meeting came back in Utah’s magical 2008 season when the Utes won, 31-28.
• Utah has won three of the last four meetings between the two teams.
• The Utes rank 15th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just under 100 yards per game.
• Utah has now lost five players to season- ending injuries: linebacker Boo Anderson (knee), punt returner Charles Henderson (knee), safety Keith McGill (shoulder), tight end Dallin Rogers (knee), and quarterback Jordan Wynn (shoulder).
• Star wide receiver DeVonte Christopher is expected to start and play again this week after missing a couple weeks with an ankle injury.
• Utah and OSU have two common opponents: BYU and Arizona State. Both teams lost to ASU (Utah: 35- 14, OSU: 35-20). Meanwhile, the Utes beat BYU 54-10 in Provo and the Beavers lost to the Cougars 38-28 at home in Corvallis.

Conclusion:

Last week, I said Cal was a bad matchup for the Utes, and this week isn’t much better. Cal has better athletes than the Beavers do, but the two teams match up similarly against the Utes. Oregon State throws the ball downfield quite a bit and they protect their quarterback pretty well. The Beavers do give up over 30 points a game, but the Utes' offense has obviously struggled recently. Expect a low-scoring affair, and turnovers will once again make the difference.

Trevor Amicone is the sports director at 88.1 Weber FM "Ogden's Radio Station" and host of the sports talk radio show, "Fully Loaded Sports with Trevor Amicone". Find more of his blogs at TrevorsTopTens.com. Follow him on Twitter at @TrevorAmicone.

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