This was a great statement game, as the Utes also got revenge on the Beavers.

Phillips’ three interception performance was the first at home by a Ute since 1970, which was accomplished by Norm Thompson.

The defense was far from perfect, but Phillips and Hubert had some clutch timely interceptions that helps swing momentum.

Rising really stepped up today and looked really comfortable with spreading the ball around. He connected with 8 different targets. He looked really comfortable going to Devaughn Vele who had 7 receptions for 94 yards and a TD. Rising was also clutch on the ground, and they needed that with the RBs not doing much in the ground. When he focusing on running, good things happen: 7 carries for 73 yards and a TD.

The defense was honestly bailed out by some big plays—giving up 417 yards while the Utes offense put up 361.

Lastly, Ludwig is lucky that his random wildcat call didn’t impact the outcome of the game. Yes it was bad execution, but it completely killed Utah’s momentum for a while.

Now onto UCLA and their Jekyll and Hyde was. When they’re on, they’re a scary team. It’s likely about to be a matchup of two top 20 teams after the Bruins huge win. The question is, how much will Utah climb?

Lets hear everyone’s reactions…

It's time to avenge last season's lone Pac-12 loss in Corvallis. Last I checked, it is still a Utah double-digit spread, but I think this one will be a little too close for comfort for most of the game.

Covey signed

So happy for him and the Utes. Great day to be a Ute!!!

Here’s Dustin’s deep-dive on the Oregon State Beavers:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/inside-the-numbers-oregon-state-2

Here’s my Q&A with BeaversEdge:

https://oregonstate.rivals.com/news/behind-enemy-lines-5-questions-with-utah-expert-2

My buddy asked if he should wear a particular color tomorrow. I assume not. Can anyone confirm?

Thank you,

Here’s what Oregon State publisher Brenden Slaughter had to say about the Beavers:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/opponent-preview-oregon-state-4

To get there early!

Here’s the position battles for today’s game:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/position-battles-utah-vs-oregon-state-1

Heartless.

What are you hearing about where Huntley will be next year? I am assuming that someone will be looking at him as a QB 1.

An exciting week of games almost upended the map, but USC and Oregon wound up squeaking out victories and maintaining most of their territory.

Despite the W and the strong AP ranking, USC lost a considerable amount of territory- last week they were a title game entrant in 41% of seasons, this week just 31%. The combination of causes: USC did not play well against Oregon State, bailed out chiefly by four Beavers turnovers. This set them back in advanced metrics. Early projections have also favored USC because of what was seen as a soft conference schedule- the team misses both Oregon and Washington. Cal, Washington State, UCLA and Utah all took big steps forward this week, though, causing the Trojan's strength of schedule to tick up sharply. Finally, Washington looks like they are going to win a whole bunch of games, with a 51% chance of 7 or more conference wins, joining Oregon and Utah. That narrows USC's window of success considerably.

Lord of the PAC video:

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Week over week odds of making the conference title game:

A few threads below have indicated that Cam is a little off this year. High on some throws, low on some others. Maybe. BUT, I think we need to be honest and this in no way an dig on Cam. Last year he threw some very suspect passes that coulda, shoulda been picked off but were not (I distinctly remember some throughs that made me wince). He was a complete turn around from Baylor guy and therefore we were thrilled by his presence. This year he is now a known commodity and expectations are sky high.

Cam has a tendency to force balls (see Florida TD interception and Kincaid's great second TD catch against ASU - one worked, one didn't). Cam is a bit of a wildcard. He will make some awesome, clutch plays. He will also tempt trouble. It's OK - he is what he is. I think he is producing just fine.

Here’s Sean’s opponent preview on Oregon State:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/opponent-preview-oregon-state-3

There’s a social media plea out there by Coach Whit explaining the difference it makes to have the stadium full at kickoff.

“I’m telling you right now….it makes a huge difference and our players feed off that crowd”.

Home field advantage means something, unless it doesn’t. Go 20 minutes earlier and be in your seats. The top 15 team you cheer for deserves it.

A look at the game from a betting perspective:

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-Kuithe has been lost for the season. If he chooses, he can come back for one more year. He was such a big part of the offense, it’s a big blow. It’s a torn ACL and meniscus.

-Thomas Yassmin is a true TE. He just needs to be assignment sound. He started from ground-zero when he got to Utah with no football experience, only rugby.

-The front 7 performance against Florida looks like an aberration now. Tafuna, Vimahi, and Pepa will be the main rotation.

-Tavion can get back to the bulk of the carries once he improves both on and off the field. He definitely acknowledged disappointment with him off the field.

-With Ja’Quinden’s past RB experience, they’re intrigued with his potential once he gets more and more reps there.

-Mohamoud Diabate is expected back against Oregon State.

-They’re concerned about the long kickoff returns last week. They need to do a better job of rotating and staying in their lanes.

What do Joseph’s numbers say this week, especially with the loss of Brant Kuithe…

https://utah.rivals.com/news/statistically-speaking-utah-vs-oregon-state-2

In Kuithe's 3 full games, he had 28 targets or 9.3 per game. It will be interesting what Ludwig does with those 9 targets. Here is my .02 worth...

​

RBs
Micah Bernard 2

TEs
Kincaid 1
Yassmin 2

WRs
Money Parks 2
Solomon Enis 1
Devaughn Vele 1

The last non-conference week is in the books and the stage is set for a thrilling race to the title game. ASU's chances of winning collapsed after an embarrassing loss at home that cost Herm his job, Washington is establishing itself as a contender, and Utah's odds of making the title game dwindled to less than 2/3; not so much because of any problems on the Utes' end but instead because the PAC 12 is loaded at the top.

I'm pretty excited to see how this week's games impact the map. Will Oregon swallow Washington State, or will the tiny scarlet and grey island in that sea of green grow? Will USC cross the strait and seize territory from Oregon State, or retreat and cede ground to both the Beavers and Utah? It's gonna be fun.

Oh, and to make it nice and easy for you, the odds of making it to the title game (arrows show movement from last week) are:



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Halie answers last week’s questions and looks ahead to the battle against Oregon State…

https://utah.rivals.com/news/burning-questions-utes-head-into-week-5

As always, NSFW...


Georgia:

See y’all later, gonna re-watch the Oregon game to bleach my eyes

Oklahoma:

Still time to pull out of that SEC thing??

Arkansas:

They could not have scripted this game better to describe life as an Arkansas fan.

Here’s the breakdown on what it means for Katoa committing to the Runnin’ Utes for the class of 2024…

https://utah.rivals.com/news/what-it-means-katoa-commits-to-the-runnin-utes

No huge changes this week as favorites largely held serve. Washington and UCLA are coming on strong. Utah is now slightly more likely to win 10 games than 9, new territory for them since the loss to Florida. Colorado's most likely result is now 0-12, and Arizona State is in free fall as projections struggle to keep up with just how badly they've been playing.

USC's rosy season numbers disguise increasing uncertainty in their bid for a trip to the title game; that'll be the focus of tomorrow's conference projection post.