No. 12 Utah welcomes Kansas on Saturday night with both teams coming in on very different tracks, and the matchup sets up as another chance for the Utes to keep rolling early in the season.
Utah is 4-0 and has handled business in a pretty convincing way. The Utes were favored by at least -13.5 in each of their first three games, then went to Iowa State and came away with a 31-17 win as -7.5 favorites. They’ve also been perfect against the spread at 4-0, with none of those first four games really being in doubt.
Kansas, meanwhile, has had a much more uneven start. The Jayhawks have split their first four games with two losses sandwiched between two lopsided wins over inferior opponents, covering as -44.5 and -21.5 favorites in those victories.
Their defeats have come as underdogs of +3.5 and +4.5, with losses by 17 and seven points. Kansas also has not played a road game yet this season.
The headliner here is Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, who has been sharp through four games in his senior year. He has completed 71 of 101 passes for 896 yards, nine touchdowns and just one interception, and he’s added two rushing scores, both against Arkansas.
Dampier already showed what he can do against Kansas last November, when he led Utah to a 31-21 road win in the first meeting between the programs. In that game, he went 15 of 25 for 253 yards and three touchdowns, while also running 11 times for 50 yards.
That kind of production points to another strong night for Dampier, especially with Kansas looking like a step below the Iowa State team Utah handled last week.
Utah beat Kansas 31-21 in the first-ever meeting between the teams last November, and the Utes enter this one as the clear side to trust at home.
In Other News...
Utah's Third Quarter Problem Is Starting To Feel Risky
Utah has kept winning, but the way its offense has drifted in the third quarter has started to feel like more than a small blip. The Utes have talked openly about the issue after recent games, with head coach Morgan Scalley and offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven pointing to execution and the need for a better balance in play-calling as the reasons momentum has been so hard to sustain once halftime ends.
Wayshawn Parkers usage against Iowa State fit right into that conversation. The junior running back was a major first-half force, then saw his role shrink after the break as Utah continued trying to spread the ball around and avoid leaning too hard on one player. That approach makes sense in theory, but if the third-quarter stalls keep showing up, it is the kind of detail that can start to matter a lot more when the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Utah's Win Raised A Bigger Question About How This Team Travels
Utah left Lawrence with a 41-24 win over Kansas, and Wayshawn Parker was the player who kept the Utes from spending the afternoon in a tight road game. Parker rushed for 171 yards and two touchdowns, giving Utah the kind of physical edge it wanted away from home, while Devon Dampier settled in after a difficult opening half and helped the offense find enough rhythm to pull away.
The bigger question now is what this group looks like when it leaves Salt Lake City and has to sort through the bumps that come with it. Utahs defense had trouble handling Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall, who threw for 333 yards and two touchdowns, and the win still came with enough uneven stretches to leave room for concern about whether the Utes can travel cleanly when the opponent can keep pace through the air. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Is About To Give Kansas A Brutal Big 12 Reality Check
Kansas gets its Big 12 schedule going the hard way, heading into a road date with a Utah team that has looked every bit like a league front-runner in the opening stretch. The Utes are unbeaten, sitting in the No. 12 spot nationally, and the matchup already carries the feel of an early measuring stick for a Kansas program trying to find out how it stacks up once conference play starts in earnest.
There is also the matter of the setting, which figures to make an already difficult assignment even trickier. The late kickoff could bring ugly conditions, with extreme winds and the chance of rain in the mix, adding another layer of uncertainty to a game where Kansas will need sharp execution and clean football just to stay in position. [Read more 🡒]