The No. 14 (CFP) Utah Utes came off their bye week and headed into a tough environment against the Washington State Cougars in Pullman. With a team riddled with injuries, the Utes depth was a key piece in their victory and coach Whittingham’s 150th career win. The Utes beat the Cougars for the first time in Pullman since 2011, 21-17.

Let’s take a look back at our questions for the Washington State game.

What to expect from Utah’s run game?

For Coach Quinton Ganther, he’s been submerged head first into a sea of challenges in his first year of coaching at Utah. The Utes were led by the true freshman Jaylon Glover and converted quarterback Ja’Quiden Jackson.

Tavion Thomas didn’t travel with the Utes to Washington State due to his disciplinary action, and Micah Bernard traveled with the team but battling lingering injuries, he wasn’t on the field very long.

The Utes relied heavily on their run game as Jackson would finish the night 10 carries for 43 yards and one touchdown, while Glover added 20 carries for 76 yards and one touchdown. Both players at running back really helped the Utes in their win. Jackson is really coming into his own and showing just how talented of an athlete he is. Glover had some bright moments, showing a little more grit, but power in the gaps is something he still needs to improve.

Can Cam Rising and the offense keep up with the defensive struggles?

While we questioned how much the offense and Rising could take with a struggling defense, a game-time decision was made to start sophomore walkon Bryson Barnes and go without Rising under center for precautionary reasons. Utah didn’t know until less than an hour before the game that they would be turning to Barnes.

Barnes would throw for 175 yards and one touchdown on 17/27 passing. He also ran eight times for 51 yards. It was a gutsy effort in his first start as a Ute. It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t pretty, but his supporting cast was limited as well.

Already down Brant Kuithe on the year, Dalton Kincaid went down after landing hard on his shoulder. He’d leave the game a short time later after catching Barnes’ lone touchdown pass. Additionally, starting center Paul Maile had to be replaced near the end of the game. While the trajectory shifted for the offense Saturday they handled the challenges as you’d hope with your depth, the defense stepped up big time that stitched a team effort to pull away with the win.

Moving forward, the Utes add a lot more questions on offense heading into this week's match-up.

How does the defense match-up against Cameron Ward?

Washington State quarterback Cam Ward finished a quiet but efficient 27/31 on the night for 222 yards and one touchdown. His two biggest plays came on a 29 yard touchdown pass to De’Zhaun Stribling and a 39 yard passing play to Tsion Nunnally. Aside from that, Utah sacked Ward four times, bringing his season total to 30 in eight games. The Utes also got one quarterback hurry and stopped the Cougars for 10 tackles for loss.

While Ward didn’t throw any interceptions and managed the ball well, Utah’s front seven showed up big, doing a better job with their pressure and gap containment after struggling in the recent weeks. Defensive ends Jonah Elliss and Van Fillinger were often found disruptive in the Washington State backfield. Fillinger and Mohamoud Diabate each had 1.5 sacks, including a crucial forced fumble by Fillinger recovered by Elliss. Linebacker Karene Reid also had a sack and a forced fumble.

Safety Sione Vaki had his best game as a Ute, leading the team with nine tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss. He was followed by Cole Bishop with seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

It was arguably one of the front seven’s best games as the odds were starting to stack against them.

Now, Utah looks ahead to take on the Arizona Wildcats’ at home on Nov. 5th. The Wildcats’ are 0-5 against the Utes since 2015. Let’s take a look at our three burning questions for this match-up:

How does Utah’s defense match-up against Wildcats’ quarterback Jayden de Laura?

Despite the Wildcats’ loss to USC, Jayden de Laura completed 26/43 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns while adding 54 yards rushing. He’s completed 62.9 percent of his throws for 2,654 yards and 22 touchdowns with eight interceptions this season. One big piece of their success is his receiving core led by junior Jacob Cowing with 60 receptions for 817 yards and 7 touchdowns, sophomore Dorian Singer has 48 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns — three of those came against USC. Singer accounted for 141 yards on seven receptions and three of Arizona’s four touchdowns in their loss.

While they rely more on their passing, they also have junior running backs Michael Wiley and DJ Williams leading a backfield that averages 135.5 yards per game. This match-up will be similar to USC for the Utes defensively, minus the RPO that the Utes saw a lot of against the Trojans.

Utah will be without safety RJ Hubert in the first half due to a targeting call late in the Washington State game, but Sione Vaki and Clayton Isbell both stepped up alongside Bishop against the Cougars. The other questions will be Clark Phillips who was shook up on a play late in the game.

What will be Utah’s offense?

With the Utes offense put together like patchwork, it’s still a question whether or not Cam Rising will be under center again come Saturday. With tight end Dalton Kincaid’s return doubtful, it leaves the tight ends group thin with Thomas Yassmin, Munir McClain and Logan Kendall combining for six receptions — we’ll most likely see an emphasis on running the ball and using the wide receivers in the playbook. While that may cause some issues for the offense, this may still play out in the Utes' favor.

Currently, the Wildcats sit at the bottom of the Pac-12 in total defense, run defense and scoring defense, surrendering 621 yards and 45 points against USC alone — it’s no secret that they struggle as a unit. Even though the Utes are without key pieces to their offense, if Bryson Barnes starts at quarterback, he has valuable targets to run and throw the ball to. Wide receivers Devaughn Vele, Jaylon Dixon, Money Parks and Solomon Enis all have been instrumental in the Utes success.

Is this a trap game?

Although Utah is a favorite to win at home against a team that is offensively and defensively at the opposite ends of the spectrum, there are still some match-up advantages that the Wildcats’ might possess.

Arizona’s defense is allowing 371 yards per game. With the current unknowns and potential limitations offensively for the Utes, this could turn into a tense battle.

Another concern falls under the Wildcats’ high power offense and the ability to offset their defensive struggles. Utah is allowing an average of 343.5 yards per game. If the Utes’ are unable to slow them down from putting points on the board and struggle to play effectively on offense, this could turn into an upset situation — this game shouldn’t be viewed as a cakewalk.