Arizona vs No. 10 Utah: Game Day Preview Plus Score Prediction

Sep 28, 2024, 10:20 AM

Kyle Whittingham - Utah Utes vs. Arizona State...

Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham encourages fans to make noise in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021. Utah won 35-21. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)

BY STEVE BARTLE

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY –Arizona vs No. 10 Utah is set for a late kick tonight in Utah’s Homecoming Game and Dark Mode theme.

The Wildcats come into this one off of a bye, looking to get their first Big 12 Conference win. Meanwhile, Utah is looking to stay unblemished and will be looking to avenge last year’s performance against Arizona.

Utah vs Oklahoma State is just hours away from kickoff in Stillwater. Both teams are battling to improve to 4-0 on the season and gain a significant advantage in the Big 12 Conference race.

Here are some final thoughts on the game and a score prediction on the game.

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐓 𝐈𝐓 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊 ⚫️ #DarkMode pic.twitter.com/pT82P8NmSg

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 28, 2024

Arizona vs Utah

Game Info

Location: Rice Eccles Stadium

TV: ESPN

Rado: AM 700

Records: No. 10 Utah, 4-0, 1-0; Arizona 2-1

Last Week: Utah def. Oklahoma State State, 22-10; Arizona bye

Three Game Day Thoughts

1. Night game at Rice-Eccles Stadium

Utah has really leaned into the Dark Mode theme this season. As they should. There is something truly extraordinary about Rice-Eccles at night.

“I don’t know (what it is) but there is something magical about Rice-Eccles and night games,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said in last week’s press conference.

The atmosphere in the stadium tonight should be pretty electric. It’s been a while since the last home game at night for the Utes, there weren’t any last season.

Utah is also coming off of a rather momentous road victory at Oklahoma State, a rather ideal scenario for homecoming week. This weekend has featured the throwback uniforms, which now have the all black set to match the Dark Mode theme as well.

There is certainly a lot of excitement for this game, defensive tackle Junior Tafuna summed it up best earlier this week.

“Rice-Eccles is always louder after dark,” he said. “Rice-Eccles is going to be popping, it’s going to be loud and I’m excited, we’re all excited.”

2. A chance to go 5-0 with all the context around the start of this season

Utah football has a chance to do something significant this weekend in the Big 12 Conference.

But first, consider that Utah has seen their star quarterback in four quarters of action this season.

Not only that, but they lost their No. 2 cornerback within the first couple series of the season. Then their veteran defensive leader and top pass rusher have each missed the last two games.

Going to be some big time visitors this weekend! May even be a couple of late additions to the list. #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/RTseeVDHc3

— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) September 26, 2024

Yet, Utah has an opportunity tonight night to improve to 5-0 and solidify their standing atop the Big 12. Something many only considered possible if Cam Rising were healthy, let alone Kenan Johnson, Karene Reid, and Connor O’Toole.

Regardless of what happens tonight, Utah has positioned themselves favorably with their best ball ahead of them.

3. Curious to hear about the new concessions process

The fan experience is an important dynamic in football games. In the previous two home games, the experience was less than ideal.

Due to significant concourse congestion issues, Utah Athletics and Rice-Eccles Stadium have changed the process around their concessions.

These issues have centered around empty soda cups at purchase and long lines at refill stations, which exacerbated long-time congestion issues.

Utah fans will now be provided a full soda cup at initial purchase. That eliminates the primary issue of needing to wait in an additional line to fill up the cup with soda, whether initially or as a refill. Additional soda machines have been installed to help speed up the entire process for fans as well.

Curious to hear how much these changes help the fan experience tonight.

Two Arizona vs Utah Questions

1. How does Utah defend Tetairoa McMillan?

The Wildcats have one of the top receivers in the country. He’s averaging over 150 yards per game as the focal point of their passing attack. He’s the sort of talent that demands special attention.

At the same time, Arizona hasn’t gotten much out of their other pass catchers. Kansas State beat Arizona pretty handily by making it tough on McMillan but more importantly, limiting the production of others.

How Utah defends McMillan and the rest of the passing attack is something that I’ll be very interested in tonight.

2. What improvements does the Utah offense make?

The run game has really come on strong the past two weeks with the emergence of Micah Bernard as RB1.

Dorian Singer (161 yards), Brant Kuithe (142), and Money Parks (84) have been pretty productive in the passing game as well.

Utah is 4-0 but has only enjoyed stretches of highly potent offensive output.

The offense has lost the turnover battle in two games and it’s struggled to convert efficiently on 3rd downs this season.

There is plenty for the offense to clean up. There is also another level they can get to with their execution.

Utah needs to show offensive progress tonight, exactly what sort of progress will be interesting to see.

Score Prediction for Arizona vs Utah

The Utes will certainly be motivated for this one for several reasons. The defense needs another strong performance, while the offense needs to play make improvement. The home crowd also needs to play a big role tonight for Utah.

Given Arizona is coming off of a bye, they’ll be fresh and extra prepared for this one as well. That makes this one a competitive game. Still, Utah gets it down and goes into their bye week unblemished.

Utah 30, Arizona 24