It is a huge game week for the No. 9 University of Utah football team (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) as they head up to Seattle to take on foe Washington (5-3, 2-3 Pac-12). This is the first meeting between the two teams since they met in the Pac-12 Championship last December. The Utes were 0-2 versus the Huskies last season.

Scouting Utah

The Utes are heading up to Seattle after dominating Cal last week 35-0. Even though he only played in part of the game, Tyler Huntley was 11-17 for 214 yards. He threw 1 touchdown on a beautiful pass to Bryan Thompson for 40 yards. Jason Shelley also saw time under center going 4-5 for 28 yards and 1 touchdown to Brant Kuthie. Shelley also rushed for a touchdown on Saturday night.

Zack Moss also had a big night, rushing for 115 yards and 2 touchdowns in the victory. He also led the team in receiving yards with 89 yards. Kuthie had a big game as well, including a 21 yard reception from Huntley.

The Utah defense was playing on a different level on Saturday. They held the Cal offense to only 83 total yards on the night. Leki Fotu lead the charge for the team, racking up a sack which led to a 13 yard loss for the Golden Bears. For his outstanding performance, Fotu was named the conference defensive linemen of the week. This is his first time being honored by the conference.

Josh Nurse also had a big game for the Utes, forcing a fumble that caused a double digit loss for Cal.

Rush Record Watch

Last week, two more University records fell as Moss recorded his 32nd and 33rd career rushing touchdown, breaking the record of 31 total touchdowns that was held by Del Rodgers.

Moss also recorded his 15th career 100-yard rushing game last week, which broke a three-way tie for first place that was held by John White and Devontae Booker.

Moss needs 225 more all-purpose yards to take second place on the list, dethroning Eddie Jackson of yet another record. Currently, he has 3,850 all-purpose yards during his time at Utah.

Scouting Washington

Washington is coming off a bye week. The last time the Huskies took the field, they were defeated by No. 7 Oregon 35-31.

Jacob Eason has taken over at quarterback this season after the departure of Jake Browning at the end of last season. So far this season, Eason has been fairly accurate with the ball, going 157-233 for 1,981 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has only thrown 3 interceptions this season.

Aaron Fuller leads the team in receptions with 40 receptions for 558 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Filling the shoes left by Myles Gaskin has proven to be a big challenge for Salvon Ahmed. He has been able to move the ball at times rushing for 7 touchdowns on 662 yards.

The Washington defense has been allowing 21.5 points per game this season. They are allowing teams to make plays via the air, averaging 224.8 passing yards per game. Just like Utah, they are more stingy when it comes to rush yards, allowing only 147.6 yards per game.

Mascot Watch

Washington’s mascot is the Husky — and while they have a person in a suit called Harry — they have an actual dog who is at athletic events. His name is Dubs. While this week has huge implications for both teams, I want nothing more than for Dubs to be warm and happy during the game. 

Sorry Swoop, this week I’m going to go with Dubs. 

How to Watch

The game is set to start at 2 p.m. locally and will be broadcast on Fox. Joe Davis, Brock Huard and Bruce Feldman will be on the call. Fans can also listen to the game on the Home of the Utes ESPN 700 with Bill Riley, Scott Mitchell and Tom Hackett on the call.

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