No. 10 Utah’s matchup against No. 14 Houston will be a big test for both teams.
While the Cougars have already faced two ranked teams in then-No. 13 Texas Tech (a 28-26 loss that came down to an inch) and No. 18 Oklahoma State (a 35-32 win), the Utes will play their first ranked team this season in a marquee Big 12 matchup.
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ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ show will air live from the University of Utah’s Presidents Circle at 7 a.m. MDT on Saturday morning to set the stage for one of the biggest games of the week’s college football slate.
Houston coach Willie Fritz, whose team is on a four-game winning streak, knows the challenge the undefeated Utes pose, even if Utah didn’t play its best game in a tight 27-24 win over Colorado last week.
“We’re going to have another big test coming up against Utah. They’re very well-coached. Their new head coach has been there a while, so he knows their system,” Fritz said in his weekly press conference on Monday.
While Utah’s offense took a step backward in the win over Colorado, the Utes are still averaging 40.2 points and 486.5 yards per game, both top-10 marks in the nation.
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The two-quarterback system is unique and has caused defenses problems in the past, but Colorado successfully slowed it down. Byrd Ficklin played nine snaps on Saturday — one at quarterback, four in the backfield and four at receiver — and didn’t see much success, rushing for two yards and catching three passes for 13 yards.
Houston is preparing for Ficklin to get plenty of touches on Saturday, along with an entire cast of characters. Utah’s leading receiver seems to change every week; Last week, it was Creed Whittemore getting his turn with 88 yards on three catches, including a 43-yard reception. Braden Pegan also continued his excellent season with 86 yards and two scores on eight receptions.
Offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven’s bag of tricks didn’t work as well as it usually does against Colorado, but as Scalley said, what some might call “trick plays” is just part of Utah’s normal offense.
Utah’s offense has raised the bar so high this season that a 409-yard, 27-point performance was mildly disappointing — only because Utah’s players knew that they should have put more points on the scoreboard, especially in the red zone. Devon Dampier’s two interceptions didn’t help matters, either.
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Despite the performance last game, Utah’s offense is one that can keep opposing defensive coordinators and head coaches up at night.
“Offensively they do a bunch of stuff. I mean, a bunch of stuff. They’ll play with two quarterbacks, they’ll play with one quarterback and another one off,” Fritz said.
“Rhino” tight end Semi Taulanga earned a mention from Houston’s head coach.
“They’ve got a big extra tight end guy who’s, I don’t know how big he is. He’s a big dude. He’s probably 6-2, 330, 340 pounds, something like that. Lead blocker, he actually caught a touchdown pass a couple of weeks ago against Kansas. So (they) really do a lot of things. We’re going to have to be on point during the game,” Fritz said.
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The challenge for Fritz and his staff this week is to try and simplify all of the wrinkles of Utah’s offense so he can prepare his players without overwhelming them.
“I was sitting in our meetings this morning and we’re obviously trying to simplify it as much as we can, but they do a lot of stuff,” Fritz said.
“If you watch some of their games, you’ll see them in all sorts of different formations and sets and run a bunch of option and halfback passes, double passes. They do a lot of stuff offensively. The main thing is you got to line up right. If you line up right, you got a chance. If you don’t line up right, there’s going to be some problems.”
The Utes are 0-5 all-time against the Cougars, including a 17-14 loss at a barren TDECU Stadium in 2024 that was the low-water mark of a forgettable season for the Utes. For Houston, it’s the first trip to Salt Lake City since 1977, a 34-16 win for the Cougars.
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Fritz, who took over at Houston in 2024 after a great run at Tulane, is making his first-ever trip to Rice-Eccles Stadium.
“We’re playing up there. I’ve never played there before. I’ve heard it’s a great venue to play at, so we’re looking forward to it,” Fritz said.
The well-traveled head coach, who worked his way up from Blinn College to Houston, has surveyed other coaches in the Big 12 to get a feel for Rice-Eccles Stadium. The 51,444-seat stadium punches above its weight in noise and Ute fans will bring it for the first “big” game in the stadium this season.
The 8:15 p.m. kickoff is the annual “dark mode” game with fans wearing black to the late-night contest.
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“Obviously we’ll work with a lot of noise this week during practice because it’s going to be loud. I always check with people that have played them maybe a couple weeks before, the locker room, distance to the field, the crowd noise, turf, altitude, different things like that. The only thing we do differently is the flight’s a little longer. That’s it,” Fritz said.
At 7 a.m., more than 13 hours before kickoff, ‘College GameDay’ will begin its show live from Salt Lake City. It’s the seventh time Utah has hosted the show, but for Fritz, it’s the first time a team he has coached has had a game featured on the traveling pregame show.
“I think the kids were excited about it. I kind of mentioned it this morning. I think they all knew already. That’ll be exciting. I’ve never been a part of ‘GameDay’ and I always get a big kick out of the last time Houston was on ‘College GameDay.’ Coach (Lee) Corso kind of threw one out there with my friend Carl Lewis up there on stage,” Fritz said, referring to Corso’s expletive while picking Houston when the show was on campus in 2011.
“I always get a little chuckle out of that. We’re excited about being on it. I think all the people on there are really pro-college sports. They do a great job of really getting the sport out there and doing it the right way.”
Houston coach Willie Fritz speaks during the Big 12 Conference media days in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 10, 2024. | Lucas Peltier, Associated Press
