Matchup: Washington vs. Utah
Date and Time: Friday, November, 30th. 8 PM EST.
Location: Levi Stadium, Santa Clara, California.
Background Information: Week 3’s edition of Washington-Utah had both teams play to a defensive ballgame with Utah barely eclipsing 250 yards and Washington just north of 300. Myles Gaskin ran for 143 yards in that game and there was only one touchdown in the entire second half from Jake Browning to Ty Jones. Ever since then, Zach Moss has been a lot more electric with the football in his hands and it wont be Tyler Huntley playing for Utah. Both teams are coming off of big time emotional wins against each other’s arch rivals. This game has no CFP implications, but it should be one of the more interesting Conference Championship games in the nation.
Players to Watch out for:
Washington: This team is stacked with NFL talent from the secondary and the linebacking core. In this game, CB Byron Murphy should be the man Utah fans should watch out for. Ben Burr-Kirven has gotten a ton of attention and will be a first round draft pick. But Byron Murphy is also a very athletic playmaker in the back end with 12 pass deflections (3rd the Pac 12) and 2 interceptions, to go with 3 forced fumbles. Expect Murphy to be flying around, trying to force turnovers.
Utah: With Washington having such a daunting defense, establishing HB Zach Moss is so crucial in this game. Moss was limited to just 67 yards in the first meeting as he was responsible for the only touchdown back in Week 3. Jason Shelley has been okay in relief of Huntley, but UW could make Utah one dimensional. If that does happen, Moss better be ready to carry the load on offense.
Keys to Victory:
Washington: For the most part, this was addressed in the players to watch, but to eliminate the run game and force Shelley to make very good passes. The combo or Murphy and Taylor Rupp makes up for the best 1-2 duo in the conference. Burr-Kirven has also shown to be a really good coverage linebacker with 2 interceptions and 5 pass deflections (2nd on the team behind Murphy). If you can keep Moss from breaking free, this game could get ugly.
Utah: Something like Washington lacks is big plays. Browning has been a 3 year starter and has been apart of a ton of big games. He’s won some and lost some but all in all, Browning has never had a good game when the lights are the brightest. Ever since the loss of John Ross, the explosiveness in the receiving core has been lackluster outside of potentially Dante Pettis. Which means Utah should focus heavily on Myles Gaskin who is coming off a great game where he rushed for 170 yards and a touchdown against Washington State.
Final Verdict: This is a back and forth game that will more than likely come down to the very end. Both teams have glaring weaknesses, but also a strength that they can take advantage of against the opposition. Both teams have all around okay-solid offenses and extremely good defenses. Expect this one score wise to be in the range of the first meeting, except a bit more for Utah. Washington 24, Utah 21.
Image Credit: https://collegefootballnews.com/2018/11/pac-12-championship-utah-vs-washington-fearless-prediction-game-preview
