Halie reviews questions going into the UCLA game last week and looks at the Friday night road matchup with Oregon State:

Alright, let's see what Vegas thinks about this week so far. First, the Pac-12:

#10 Utah +3 @ #19 OSU. Utah is a dog for the first time this year, but this basically is all OSU's home field. Total is 44.5, so 23-20 is the expected score.
#9 Oregon -27 @ Stanford. Stanford is bad. Total is 61, so expected score is 44-17
#7 UW -17.5 @ Arizona. Arizona is not as bad as Stanford, but still not good. Total is 69.5, so expected final is 44-26.
ASU +12 @ Cal. ASU is bad. Total is 50.5, so expected final is 31-19.
#8 USC -21.5 @ CU. CU is bad (worse than Arizona? Vegas thinks so). Total is 73.5, so Vegas isn't expecting anyone to play defense. Expected score is 48-26.
#16 WSU. Bye
UCLA. Bye

Then the rest of the top 12:

#1 UGA -14.5 @ Auburn. Auburn might be okay, only 2-TD dogs. Total is 47, so expected score is 31-16.
#2 Michigan -18 @ Nebraska. Nebraska lost to CU by more than this, take Michigan. Total is 41, so expected score is 30-11.
#24 Kansas +17 @ #3 Texas. Texas at home will certainly put BYU's ranked loss off the board again. Total is 62, so expected final is 40-23.
#4 OSU. Bye
#5 FSU. Bye
#6 PSU -26.5 @ Northwestern. Northwestern is bad. Total is 46, so expected score is 36-9
#11 ND -5.5 @ #17 Duke. Duke actually isn't terrible, undefeated and giving up only 9 ppg against Clemson, Lafayette, NW, and UCONN. ND could lose this one on the road after a tough, emotional loss to OSU. Total is 50.5, so expected final is 28-23
#12 Bama -14.5 @ MS ST. Bama may have slipped a notch, but they're still a very good team, which is why they're favored by 2 TD on the road. Total is 48.5, so expected final is 32-17

Wow, that's a lot of top 12 teams on the road. In fact, the top 15 has only 2 teams playing at home, both in the Big 12: #3 Texas against #24 Kansas and #14 Oklahoma against ISU. Here's the rest of the Big 12 (in rank/standings order):

ISU +20 @ #14 Oklahoma. ISU has reverted to their norm, which is terrible. Total is 49, so expected final is 35-15
KSU. Bye
WVU +11 @ TCU. WVU and TCU are both 1-0 in the Big 12, but WVU is not good, with their only win over a bad TTech team. Total is 51, so expected final is 31-20
Cincy +2.5 @ BYU. Both teams are 0-1 in the Big 12, with BYU getting essentially the home field advantage here. Cincy has played the tougher schedule, beating Pitt on the road, but losing to Miami (OH) and Oklahoma. Total is 50, so expected score is 27-24.
Houston +9 @ TTech. Houston is bad, getting blown out by TCU and losing to Rice for a 2-2 start, although they destroyed the Sam Houston team that BYU only beat by 14. Total is 54, so expected score is 31-22.
Baylor +13 @ UCF. Baylor... might be bad. Texas beat them by 32, TX ST beat them by 11, and we beat them by 7. Their only win is Long Island, and this is their first road game. UCF is 3-1 on a cupcake schedule, but at least they're mostly winning. Total is 56, so expected score is 35-22.
OKST. Bye


Utah not the lowest total this week, with MSU/Iowa at 36.5. Not even the lowest in the top 12, with MI/Nebraska at 41.

Here’s Dustin’s look at what Oregon Staye lost from last year and what the return from a PFF standpoint:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/inside-the-numbers-oregon-state-3

Matt breaks down the Beavers in what should be another tough matchup for Utah:

-Carlson’s biggest reason for coming back was that his wife is in law school here and any distance would have been hard. He’s also driven to make the NCAA Tournament. (Not mentioned, but I’m told he also was well taken care of on NIL)

-A TV reporter asked a really weird question on what it was like to have Gabe Madsen back… Just weird to ask since Gabe is still an underclassman.

-His biggest focus in the offseason was on his defense, playing physical and guarding with an edge.

-This team has a lot of depth and shooting. Cole Bajema is another elite shooter to go along with Madsen. Hunter Erickson and Deivon Smith are great facilitators. He thinks it’ll be a fun year to watch the offense.

-Smith brings leadership, athleticism, and quickness. Carlson claims Smith is explosive with his jumping. He’s really good at applying the pressure defensively, too.

-He believes that the trip to Spain was really good for team chemistry and jump-starting their season.

-Having the old Utes there this past weekend was big with them sharing their insights. There’s a lot to gain from the experiences that group had.

-His biggest role this year is as a leader who knows where this program has been and what the fans expect out of it.

-Carlson was asked to talk about the development of the returners and he kind of danced around the question then decided to answer it broadly. So nothing too earth-shattering when he was asked that.

I spoke with WR Zach Williams tonight, who had a lot of positives to say. First off, he said Utah is winning despite a tough situation right now and that speaks volumes to the players and coaches, and the program they’ve built. His player host was Mikey Matthews. Those two knew each other through football over the years, so it was a easy connection.

More to come, but he’s looking at the big picture and Utah is standing out to him right now.

https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/zacharyus-williams-276416?view=pv

-No news on Deivon Smith yet. (He didn’t mention this, but as I’ve mentioned before, the decision should come in October and they feel good about it)

-Branden Carlson benefited greatly from declaring for the draft, going through the early process and getting feedback before returning. He’s really grown as a leader and they’re excited to play him a bunch at the PF position. It’s a big adjustment though because he’s been a C his whole life.

-During the offseason, they really set out to address their size issues as well as their shooting. Smith believes that they’ve done that. Gabe Madsen is obviously still highlighted as the best shooter. Also, not that he’s one of the best shooters, but Smith did mention that Ben Carlson has improved in that area.

-He feels strongly that the injuries derailed a good team last year and that they were better than they showed.

-They have more talent and more experience. They have a lot more options for when a play breaks down to be able to rely on somebody to just make a shot and make things happen.

-Will Exacte wasn’t ready last year when he had all of the playing time due to so many injuries, but he’s a better player for it now.

-The schedule is set up interesting this year where conference play does not start until after the new year. So leading up to that Utah will only have 11 games and also play three of those games in four days.

The Runnin' Utes are bringing in a pair of intriguing prospects for official visits this weekend.

Ashton Simmons, a 6'3", 190 lb shooting guard out of Beaumont, TX, posted on Twitter a week ago that the Utes are in his top 4 schools, along with TCU, GCU, and Wichita St:
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The other visitor is local product Jaxon Johnson, a 3-star 6'8" power forward from Alta High in Sandy, UT. He also listed Utah in his final four in a Twitter post two days ago:
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The Utes made the most recent offer to Johnson, and they will be the first to host him on an official visit.

Somehow I missed posting this here a couple days ago. Nice mention on Isaac Wilson:

https://n.rivals.com/news/west-spotlight-five-prospects-that-have-boosted-their-stock

Dustin breaks down the Utes for the UCLA game:

He just kicked the 53 yard game winner after making three other from 53, 53, and 54. He’s the first kicker in NFL history to make four in a game from 50+.

Zack Moss was also big for the Colts today with 30 carries for 122 yards and a ridiculously good 17 yard TD reception.

Heisman Runner Up Passes Away After Battle With Cancer

Absolutely loved it. LOVED IT!!

Dominant defense, good enough offense.

9 total yards rushing—are you kidding me.

An absolute fluke of a drive is the only thing that prevented a shut out. Now let’s go beat the Beavs and get healthy!!

The Utes begin Conference play against UCLA this afternoon and again its Nate Johnson getting the start. For now, the realistic expectation is for Cam Rising to return next week against Oregon State.

With that being said, what are your predictions and expectations for the matchup with the Bruins today?

Karene Reid, what a game. His pick-6 on the first play set the tone and saved the putrid performance by the offense.

Jonah Elliss was unreal all game with 10 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 5 TFLs. A stat line for a defensive lineman can’t get much better than that.

Ja’Quinden needs to get healthy, that’s a big concern. Glover filled in well, but he’s not a lead back yet.

It was great seeing Landen King get his first Utah TD. They need to use the TEs more though.

The offensive line struggled mightily against a really good UCLA front 7.

If it wasn’t for the defense, this game would have been painful to watch.

Utah needs Rising back…

Let’s hear from everyone else.

I saw that on twitter he took down his picture and retweeted his highlights. Anyone heard or know of anything, Alex?

I’m be been told that things look positive for Utah after his visit. This is someone they absolutely have to get and I expect Burgess to be key in delivering this for Utah.

https://n.rivals.com/content/athletes/jaxon-johnson-299410?view=pv

No offensive game ball given out by Halie for this game, as the defense deserves all of the love:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/game-balls-utah-vs-ucla

Official Week 4 Power Rankings

Cole recaps the defensive victory over UCLA:

Watching him jog around today made me really question if he's ready. I know we've been told he's close but is he really? Is this just all smoke and mirrors to get teams to bite or is he really going to play next week vs UCLA?

Following the end of non-conference play the Utes find themselves at 3-0 as they prepare to welcome the Bruins of UCLA to Rice Eccles Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

As Cameron Rising’s availability still remains in question, Utah faces a challenging opponent to open up conference play regardless if he returns or not.

Here are the keys to the game:

https://utah.rivals.com/news/keys-and-position-battles-utah-vs-ucla

I didn't realize how many of them have played in the NFL: