Oregon State Football Opponent Preview: Utah

With the start of the 2023 season just around the corner, BeaversEdge kicks off the first in an opponent preview series diving into all 12 of Oregon State's opponents in 2023...

Up next is the Beavers' first Pac-12 home game, a Friday night matchup with Utah...

MORE: OSU Ranked 18th In Preseason Poll | Beavers Land In-State WR Eddie Freauff | Rakeem Johnson Breaks Down OSU Pledge | Day 3 Nuggets: Defense Dials Up Pressure

THE GAME

Date: Friday, September 29th

Time: 6 p.m.

Location: Reser Stadium - Corvallis, Ore.

TV: FS1

Oregon State 2022 record: 10-3 (6-3 Pac-12)

Utah 2022 record: 10-4 (8-2 Pac-12)

Utah Head Coach: Kyle Whittingham (154-74) Entering 19th season as Utah HC

Utah 2022 RECAP

Fresh off a Pac-12 Championship and Rose Bowl appearance in 2021, the Utah Utes followed that up with another Pac-12 title and another Rose Bowl appearance in 2022...

The season didn't start out on the right foot as the Utes fell to the Florida Gators in Gainesville to open the season, but from there, Utah proceeded to rattle off wins in 11 of their next 13 games.

Despite having conference slip-ups with UCLA and Oregon, because of Oregon State's victory over UO, the Utes reached the Pac-12 title game. Utah also missed Washington in the scheduling last season, which was significant given that both finished 7-2 in the conference...

While either of those conference losses could have been the Utes' worst loss, Florida definitely stands out simply because OSU fans know the quality of Florida when they played in the Las Vegas Bowl. Granted, a slightly different personnel grouping, but there's no reason the Utes should have dropped that game.

Their most impressive win of the season certainly has be the Pac-12 Championship as they held USC out of the college football playoff and won the game going away... It wasn't like the regular season where a two-point conversion was the difference, this was a shellacking where Utah made a big-time statement.

While the win over USC was arguably the high point of the season, the Utes once again couldn't deliver a Rose Bowl trophy. After falling to Ohio State by three in 2021, the Utes fell to Penn State by 14 and saw Rising go down with an injury heading into this season.

Utah has firmly established itself as a Pac-12 contender each of the past two seasons and there's little reason to think they won't be a tough out and a strong team once again in 2023...

Best Win: vs USC (Pac-12 Championship) 47-24

Worst Loss: @ Florida 29-26

2022 Schedule

MORE: WATCH: Defense Talks Day 3 | Pass Rush Shines On Day 2 | Oregon State Football Ranked 18th In Preseason Coaches Poll

UTAH 2023 Outlook

Heading into the 2023 campaign, all eyes will be on quarterback Cam Rising as he's back for another season after leading the Utes to back-to-back Rose Bowls.

However, Rising suffered a torn ACL in the Rose Bowl loss to Penn State and is scheduled to be back to action right around the start of the season, which would be within the nine-month window. However, knee injuries are tricky and there's not one set recovery timeline that fits everyone.

If Rising is limited at all, the opening part of the schedule could be a little tough as they open with Florida and have a sneaky road trip to Baylor in week two. However, the Utes won't likely face a ranked opponent until Oregon State in week four.

While the loss of do-it-all TE Dalton Kincaid will certainly sting, returning Brant Kuithe at the position will be huge for Rising. Kuithe is also coming off a knee injury suffered midseason but looks like the next great Utah TE who is a matchup nightmare.

Defensively, the Utes project to be another strong defensive squad as they've been each and every season under Whittingham. They'll have to replace Clark Phillips, who was arguably the best DB in the conference this past season, but the internal depth is strong after back-to-back Rose Bowls.

I don't see Utah winning the conference three years in a row, but those who are hoping the Utes will fall off or have a down year will likely be disappointed. Rising is one of the most competitive and high-energy leaders in the conference and the team embraces his tough-nosed mentality.

I see Utah having an 8-to-9-win season, but I truly don't see them winning the conference for a third straight season. Utah is the team with the target on its back and the schedule is far tougher than a year ago... They have trips to Corvallis, Los Angeles, and Seattle and I don't think they'll be able to emerge from that stretch without one or two losses...

Key Returnees: QB Cam Rising, TE Brandt Kuithe, RB Ja'Quinden Jackson, DB Cole Bishop, DL Junior Tafuna

2023 Schedule

Season Projection: 9-3

Early Prediction

Arguably Oregon State's biggest game in the first half of the season, this will be a huge test for Jonathan Smith's 2023 squad...

Utah was OSU's one and only lopsided loss in 2022, and there's a great chance this is a game that the Beavers have circled on their schedule. Oregon State has also lost just one game at Reser Stadium in the last two seasons, and that home-field advantage will make a big-time difference in a game like this...

The interesting wrinkle here is that it's a Friday night... A lot of madness can happen during #Pac12AfterDark (R.I.P) and it's going to be a big game for two teams that have big-time aspirations this season.

Additionally, the Beavers getting Utah earlier in the schedule than later seems to be more favorable. With Rising coming off the injury, it's possible he might not be hitting his stride until mid-season.

This is shaping up to be a dandy of a contest and I'm going with OSU in a neck-and-neck battle that punctuates the Beavers as being a contender to win the Pac-12...

Oregon State will be able to limit turnovers in this contest a lot better than last season, and given that the Beavers actually out-gained the Utes in Salt Lake last season, I like their chances to be on top in a close contest.

Beavers by a field goal...

PREDICTION - Oregon State 34, Utah 31