Saturday NCAA football predictions: Utah Utes against Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium

Utah Utes vs Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State is shooting for a 6-0 mark for the first time since 1907 – and also trying to become bowl eligible the quickest in program history – when it hosts Utah on Saturday.

The No. 11 Beavers, 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 1968, have lost four of their last five against the Utes, who are trying to avoid starting 0-4 in the Pac-12 for second straight year. A key to the game will be whether Utah can run the ball effectively against the Beavers. The Utes are No. 112 in the nation in rushing, while Oregon State ranks fourth in the country in run defense.

Utah Utes (2-4, 0-3 Pac-12): While the run game is still struggling to get untracked, the Utes are also searching for the right quarterback to lead their offense. Travis Wilson made his first career start last weekend against UCLA and the freshman completed 23 of 33 passes for 220 yards and an interception in a 21-14 loss. Jon Hays, a senior, started the previous four games and threw six touchdown passes with one interception in that span. Coach Kyle Whittingham, though, said Monday that Wilson will start against Oregon State.

Oregon State Beavers (5-0, 3-0): Sean Mannion, the second-ranked quarterback in the Pac-12, remains sidelined after undergoing minor knee surgery last week. Cody Vaz will start for a second consecutive game. Vaz threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s victory against Brigham Young and was not intercepted. He benefits from a strong receiving corps led by Brandin Cooks and Markus Wheaton. Cooks ranks second in the nation in receiving yards per game (131.8). Wheaton has six receiving touchdowns in the last four games and one rushing.

1. Oregon State defensive end Scott Crichton has eight of his team’s 14 sacks, which ranks No. 4 nationally, while Jordan Poyer has five interceptions for the Beavers, second-most in the nation.

2. Utah punter Sean Sellwood leads the country at 48.3 yards per punt.

3. Utah receiver Dres Anderson has been the team’s top target with 22 catches for 233 yards and two scores, while three of Kenneth Scott’s 10 receptions have gone for touchdowns.

Vegas Prediction: Oregon State 38, Utah 20

Tags: Oregon State Beavers, Saturday NCAA football predictions, Utah Utes

This entry was posted on October 19, 2012 at 12:00 am and is filed under NCAA Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.