With the three non-conference victories in the rearview mirror, the Utes will kick off their first-ever Big 12 season with one of the biggest games and toughest opponents of the season in the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater, OK.
Led by reigning Big 12 Coach of the Year Mike Gundy and 2023 Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year RB Ollie Gordon II, Utah will have to be at its best in all facets of the game to protect its undefeated record.
Boone Pickens Stadium has a reputation for being a difficult venue to play in, and Utah will get to experience this firsthand Saturday afternoon.
Offense
There aren't many seventh-year players in the FBS, but two of them will lead their team's offenses onto the field when Utah plays Oklahoma State this weekend.
For the Cowboys, they'll count on QB Alan Bowman to find ways to pick apart the Utes defense. He's off to his best start in his seven seasons of college football, completing 67% of his passes for 967 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions over Oklahoma State's first three games.
Bowman has always completed a high percentage of his passes, but his 34 career interceptions have been his Achilles heel throughout his career. If he wants to beat Utah, he'll have to take care of the ball.
Alternatively, Gordon II is having a rough start to the year. After running for 1,732 yards and 21 touchdowns last season, Gordon has struggled to match that success in 2024. In the first three games this year, he has 62 carries for just 216 yards and 4 touchdowns. That's a massive dip in yards per carry, going from 6.1 in 2023 to 3.5 this season.
This has caused the Cowboys to go to the air, and they've had a ton of success doing it. They're third-best in the country in passing yards per game (334), and a lot of that is due to their top three receivers: Brennan Presley, De'Zhaun Stribling, and Rashod Owens.
Former Washington State WR Stribling has already caught 17 passes for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns. Most of that came against Tulsa where he had 7 catches for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns. He's caused Utah trouble in his 2 games against them in 2022 (4 for 66 and a TD) and 2021 (6 for 93 and a TD).
Second-Team All-Big 12 WR Presley has led the team with 23 receptions this season after leading the Cowboys with 991 yards and 6 touchdowns receiving last season.
Another offensive threat is big-bodied WR Owens, who had 895 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns last season.
The offensive line returns all five starters from last season and is one of the most experienced in the country. Through non-conference play, they have yet to allow a sack.
Oklahoma State's veteran offensive line is led by RT Jake Springfield, who has the most starts of any Cowboy offensive linemen, but he missed the Tulsa game due to injury. This could have an impact in the game on Saturday if he's out again.
Defense
Just like last season, the Oklahoma State defense is off to a sputtering start. They are dead last in the Big 12 and #124 nationally in yards allowed per game (462.7 ypg), which is mostly due to surrendering 305.3 yards passing per game, which is also worst in the Big 12 and #128 in the nation.
They're also the worst in the country at forcing a three-and-out on their opposing offense and allow a 40% conversion rate on third downs.
However, they have done a good job at keeping opponents from scoring (only giving up 20.3 points per game), which is the only stat that truly matters at the end of the game.
The Cowboys defense is led by First-Team All-Big 12 LB/DE Nick Martin. In his first year as a starter, his 140 total tackles and 83 solo tackles in 2023 were the most by any Big 12 player since 2018.
Second-Team All-Big 12 LB Collin Oliver is another important returning piece to the defense, however, he missed last Saturday's game due to an injury suffered against Arkansas, and he is likely out for the rest of the season. DII transfer Obi Ezeigbo has stepped up and played well in Oliver's absence.
On the line, Oklahoma State has relied on junior college transfer DE Iman Oates, NT Collin Clay, and returning starting DE Kody Walterscheid. They're a veteran group but haven't been particularly stout against the run, and none of them have recorded a sack this season.
S Trey Rucker leads the team with 39 tackles this season, and he is joined by a veteran group in the secondary, including fellow safeties Kendal Daniels and Cameron Epps. Korie Black and Cam Smith man the corner spots, rounding out a group who all have significant playing experience from last season.
However, that doesn't mean they have been particularly successful, and through three games this season, they aren't showing much improvement from last season in slowing down opposing passing attacks.
Summary
On paper, this appears to be a great matchup for the Utes. Oklahoma State has a pocket-passing quarterback who tends to throw interceptions and doesn't like to run the ball. They have a bruising elusive running back, but he hasn't seemed to be himself this season. The receivers could be a bit of a problem, and it wouldn't be surprising to see them make a few big plays this week.
Defensively, this team looks vulnerable against both the run and pass game, which Utah has been quite balanced with through three games. However, they have especially struggled to stop teams through the air, and the Utes finally have the mix of weapons to take advantage.
If Oklahoma State continues to play the way they have so far this season, Utah should come away from Stillwater with a victory. Historically, the Utes have done very well against teams with weak defenses (2021, 2022 and 2023 USC) and with immobile quarterbacks who struggle under pressure (2021 Oregon, 2023 Florida).
However, if Gordon II starts to find his groove, and Utah allows him to make big plays (2021 Oregon St, 2022 UCLA), and can't get the takeaways from Bowman, it could be too much for them to handle. Either way, buckle up. Big 12 play is about to begin.
