What To Watch For With BYU, Utah This Weekend

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Now that the rivalry game is in the rearview mirror, Utah and BYU both have big games ahead of them this weekend.

BYU will look to rebound after their loss to No. 14 Utah in the season opener at LaVell Edwards Stadium last week as they travel to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers from the SEC.

The Cougars need to create explosive plays on offense against a Volunteers defense that is struggling. They also need to get a big performance from both their offensive and defensive lines, basically win the battle in the trenches.

BYU will turn to their senior wide receivers in Talon Shumway, Micah Simon and Aleva Hifo to get the passing game going for the Cougars.

Utah vs. Northern Illinois

For the Utes, they will play their home opener against Northern Illinois on Saturday. It’s the second meeting all-time between these two schools with Utah winning the first matchup 17-6 last season in Dekalb, Illinois.

Utah will face a familiar face at quarterback from the Pac-12 in California graduate transfer Ross Bowers. In regular season games during their non-conference portion of their schedule, Utah is 24-1 since joining the Pac-12 in 2011.

Since Rice-Eccles Stadium opened in 1998, Utah is 91-35 and are 19-2 in home openers.

KSL Sports High School Football Challenge

Former Utah and NFL quarterback Scott Mitchell and former Utes punter Tom Hackett, both with KSL Sports, held a football challenge with two high school students competing for prizes and bragging rights by throwing a football, as well as punting it down the field and kicking the football through the uprights.