Utah Football Game Preview: No. 13 Utah Utes vs SUU

After a tough loss at the hands of the Florida Gators, Utah looks to bounce back in their home opener against SUU.

Following a disappointing defeat in Gainesville, the No. 13 Utah Utes have returned to Salt Lake City and will face SUU in their home opener at Rice Eccles Stadium on Saturday. While the loss to the Gators was certainly frustrating, it provided an excellent first test and evaluation for the Utes. 

The Utes check in at No. 13 in the latest AP Poll after their loss to Florida. #GoUtes https://t.co/WrCp0vB6sc

— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 6, 2022

Now heading into a matchup with an inferior opponent, Utah can use this as an opportunity to clean everything up and regain some confidence.

How to watch

When: Saturday, Sept. 10

Time: 11:30 a.m. MT

TV: Pac-12 Network

Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

Scoop on the Utes

Rank: No. 13 AP

Record: 0-1 (0-0 Pac-12), L vs. Florida 29-26

While it wasn't the outcome they were hoping for, Utah still played a great game against the Gators and just barely came up short. Despite being unranked heading into the matchup, Florida proved to be a much stronger opponent and the Utes were right there with them all game long.

Besides the costly interception on the final Utah drive of the game, the offense had a solid performance against Florida and were very well-balanced. For the day, Utah recorded 446 yards of total offense on 71 plays (6.3 average). 

Utah Utes tight end Brant Kuithe (80) runs with the ball against the Florida Gators during the second quarter at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field / Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

In terms of passing, Rising finished 22-32 for 216 yards, one touchdown and an interception. On the ground, Utah's run game recorded 230 yards on 39 carries (5.9 average) and two touchdowns.

Defensively, it was a bit of a different story. While Florida didn't do so much damage in the passing game, they didn't need to. On the ground, Florida posted a monstrous 283 yards on 39 carries (7.3 average) for four touchdowns. Led by quarterback Anthony Richardson, whenever the Gators ran the ball, they got whatever they wanted and they stuck to that game plan.

Having learned a lot about themselves on both sides of the ball, Utah will now have an opportunity to clean things up and test their depth against an inferior opponent.

Utes to watch

The Freshman

Utah Utes freshman running back Jaylon Glover (1) runs the ball as head coach Kyle Whittingham looks on in the second half of the Utah Spring Football Game at Rice Eccles Stadium / USA Today

Obviously Utah shouldn't overlook anybody but SUU is an extremely inferior opponent that should provide the Utes with an opportunity to test their depth. Anticipating that the starters take a seat by halftime or shortly thereafter, guys like Jaylon Glover, Tao Johnson, and Justin Medlock should get their first experience at the college level on Saturday.

Utah's Secondary

Cole Bishop, Utah Utes Fall Camp / Courtesy of Utah Athletics

In SUU's season opener against St. Thomas this past week, the Thunderbirds primarily moved the football through the air. For the day, SUU recorded 372 passing yards and three touchdowns. Not that Utah should have a tough time defending against SUU like St. Thomas did, but the Thunderbirds obviously like to pass the football.

Hear it from Coach Whitt

"We've got to get ready to play this week. It's a typical in-season schedule, we go do some walk through stuff today, then put the pads back on tomorrow and get back after it. It's going to be really great playing in front of our home crowd at Rice Eccles, it's always something we look forward to. We look forward to an early kickoff, 11:30 a.m. kickoff, which is great. Just a lot of football left, I really like this football team a lot and think we'll win a bunch of games this year," Whittingham said.

Scoop on the Thunderbirds

Rank: N/A

Record: 1-0 (0-0 WAC), W vs. St. Thomas 44-13

The Thunderbirds are coming off somewhat of a surprising victory this past week after they dominated St. Thomas 44-13. Not that the victory itself was necessarily surprising, but the pure dominance they demonstrated in week one was impressive.

Offensively, SUU quarterback Justin Miller was unstoppable as he passed for 364 yards and three touchdowns on a 65% clip. For his efforts, Miller received WAC Player of the Week Honors.

Defensively, the Thunderbirds were solid as they simply refused red zone trips and limited the Tommies production in the run-game. For the day, St. Thomas only accrued 180 yards and one touchdown on 38 attempts.

Thunderbirds to watch

Justin Miller and Isaiah Wooden

As previously mentioned, quarterback Justin Miller had a monster performance against the Tommies last week and demonstrated a lot of skill in the passing game. While his 364 passing yards and three touchdowns jump off the page, it was wide receiver Isaiah Wooden who secured 142 of those yards and two touchdowns. That will be the connection to pay the most attention to.

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