Utes Look to Upset No. 8 Oregon State

Who would have thought that the highest ranked team Utah plays this season is... Oregon State?  The Beavers went (3-9) last season, including a 27-8 loss at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Oregon State has shown what a difference a season can make with an experienced quarterback.  Last year they started quarterback Sean Mannion as a freshman and it has paid off for them.  This season the sophomore quarterback has led the Beavers to wins over Wisconsin, UCLA, Arizona and Washington State.

Mannion had to sit out their BYU win due to having knee surgery. Just a week later, he is expected to start against the Utes and says he's "100 percent."  He's lead this offense into one of the best passing attacks in the country.  Statistically even better than Utah saw against USC.


The Beavers rank 8th in the country in passing, averaging 338 yards per game. Like USC, they have NFL talent at wide receiver Brandin Cooks and Markus Wheaton, two of the best receivers in the Pac-12. They aren't bad on the ground either with freshman Storm Woods ranking 7th in the Pac-12 with 80.8 yards per game rushing.

"Oregon State is a very good football team. They play well together," Kyle Whittingham said in his press conference.  "They have good individual players on the team but how they are playing as a team is as impressive. [Head coach Mike] Riley has done a good job getting that team back on track. This is going to be a tough ball game. They are ranked No. 8 and are well deserving of that ranking."

For the Utes, all eyes will be on true freshman quarterback Travis Wilson and how he improves in his second game.  He had a good debut despite Utah's loss, throwing for 220 yards and completing nearly 70 percent of his passes.  Utah moved the ball better than they have in games this season but drives stalled and took too long.  He'll need to show better leadership for the Utes to pull off the upset.

"We were impressed with, number one the poise and accuracy he displayed," Kyle Whittingham said in his press conference.  "A true freshman going into the Rose Bowl for his first significant playing time, to be the guy and have the starting role, I thought he responded well. UCLA is a good defense, they are athletic and fast, and I thought he responded pretty good."

Utah's offensive line will have to play well and give Travis Wilson time to throw and John White room to run.  The Beavers had four sacks and three interceptions against BYU last week.  Utah doesn't have enough firepower offensively quite yet to make up for big mistakes so they will need to play smart and try to limit Oregon State offensively.

The game will be on ESPN2 from Corvallis, Oregon. Come to Game on the Green at the Union to watch the game with other MUSS Members, and make sure you guess the score for a chance to win a UteZone membership.

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