Oregon State will face a second-straight ranked opponent when No. 10 Utah visits Reser Stadium on Friday
The primary question entering Friday night’s matchup between No. 19 Oregon State and No. 10 Utah is who will start at quarterback for the Utes.
Will it be senior Cam Rising, who has led Utah to two straight Pac-12 Conference championships, or will it be redshirt freshman Nate Johnson, who has helped the Utes to a 4-0 record this season, including a 14-7 win last week against UCLA?
Rising suffered a serious knee injury in the Rose Bowl in January and has not yet played this year. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Monday that Rising and Johnson would split time in practice this week.
Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith said the team will prepare for Friday’s game by watching the tape that is available.
“You go off of what they’ve done in four games on tape and that guy’s a good player. (Johnson) creates, you can see his confidence level getting more and more. He’s athletic to extend the play,” Smith said. “Obviously Cam Rising, he’s there and has a long history of being a really good player and winning games, but haven’t seen it this year on tape. So (we’re) preparing for these four games we’ve seen.
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“There’s not going to be a huge adjustment. You look at Rising’s skill set, he can create a whole lot similar to (Johnson).”
Utah has taken a conservative offensive approach this season with Rising out and there are few teams in the country better suited to winning low-scoring games. The Utes have knocked off two power conference opponents (Florida and Baylor) and opened Pac-12 play by shutting down the Bruins.
Oregon State running back Deshaun Fenwick runs for one of his three touchdowns Saturday against Washington State.
Young Kwak, Associated Press
Utah linebacker Karene Reid, was named the Pac-12 defensive player of the week and Jonah Elliss was the defensive lineman of the week after the win over UCLA in which the Bruins were held to 243 yards of total offense, including nine net rushing yards.
Oregon State offensive coordinator Brian Lindgren said Utah has “one of the top defenses in the country.”
“Those guys do a really nice job. They’re really physical up front. They understand their scheme, really tough in the red zone. Just impressive and it will be a great challenge for us,” Lindgren said.
Smith said Whittingham, who is in his 19th year as Utah’s head coach, has created a defensive culture where players don’t make game-changing mistakes.
“They don’t bust out there,” he said. “They’re not giving you free access throws. They challenge you. They’re athletic at linebacker, they’ve got pass-rush ability. They don’t have to blitz but they’re gonna blitz when they want to. It’s a long history and they’re playing dominant defense right now.”
One of the most interesting aspects of Friday’s game will be Oregon State’s running game against Utah’s run defense. The Beavers (3-1, 0-1) are averaging 6.3 yards per carry this season as a team. Damien Martinez (7.6 yards per carry) and Deshaun Fenwick (6.8 yards per carry) have carried much of the load.
Utah’s defense is giving up just two yards per carry, making that a matchup of strength versus strength.
Utah’s pass defense will also present a challenge for an Oregon State passing game that has struggled at times over the past two weeks. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has seen his completion percentage drop to 58% for the season and has thrown three interceptions in the last two games after being turnover free in the first two games.
Smith gave Uiagalelei credit for the way he responded in the second half against Washington State to give the Beavers a chance to win.
“(He) did some good things in the game, got us back into the game, couple of drives. Could he play better? Hundred percent,” Smith said. “We need to protect him, we need to make some plays on the ball and then ya, he’s got a couple throws in there that he needs to make.”
Oregon State carried a seven-game winning streak into the game against Washington State, with their previous loss taking place Nov. 4, 2022 at Washington.
Receiver Silas Bolden said the team knows what it has to do to keep this from becoming a two-game slide.
“We just gotta bounce back. That’s all it is. You win some and you lose some. We just gotta bounce back collectively and just go out there on Friday and show you guys what we can do,” Bolden said.
Notes: Junior tight end Jake Overman announced on social media this week that he is entering the transfer portal. … Two Navy EA-18G Growler Jets based at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington, will perform a flyover during the lead-up to Friday night’s game. … The game time and broadcast plans for Oregon State’s game at California have been announced. That game will kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7 and will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.
