Wyoming-Utah Preview

Utah needed a big effort from its defense to escape with a win in its last game. There hasn't been nearly as much pressure on the Utes in their last two matchups with Wyoming.

After an underwhelming performance last week gave them a four-game winning streak, the 19th-ranked Utes look to come away with another easy victory over the Mountain West Conference rival Cowboys on Saturday night.

Utah's spot in the poll didn't change even though it had to stop Air Force on a fourth-and-2 at the 7 in overtime to secure a 23-16 victory last Saturday. The Utes (6-1, 3-0) won for the 20th time in 21 games, but they have plenty to work on after possessing the ball almost half as long as the Falcons did.

"We have deficiencies and are looking forward to becoming a better team each and every week," coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Whittingham has had little to be annoyed about following Utah's last two matchups with the Cowboys (4-3, 2-1), as the Utes outscored them 90-7 in winning both contests.

The Utes won 40-7 at Wyoming last Oct. 11 in the most recent meeting, scoring via rush, pass, interception, blocked punt and fumble recovery. They have taken four straight in the series at home, shutting out Wyoming twice during that span and winning by an average of 36.2 points.

Utah's Eddie Wide ran for 21 yards on five carries as Matt Asiata's backup in the teams' meeting last year. Asiata, though, is out for the rest of this season with a knee injury, and Wide has been outstanding in his place.

Wide scored on a 1-yard plunge on the first possession of OT against Air Force and finished with 121 yards and two scores. He was tackled and bent backward while his legs were pinned midway through the second quarter and was helped to the locker room for X-rays, but he returned in the second half to notch his fourth straight 100-yard game.

Wide, averaging 6.1 yards a carry, is expected to play Saturday.

"That's exactly what we need from Eddie Wide," Whittingham said. "He's tough enough to come back. A lot of guys would not have come back from that kind of injury."

Wide helped the Utes overcome a subpar game from Terrance Cain, who was harassed by a blitzing Air Force defense and finished with a season-low 167 yards passing. Cain still managed to throw for a TD, giving him at least one in all seven games this season.

Wyoming freshman Austyn Carta-Samuels is coming off a disappointing performance of his own against the Falcons, completing 14 of 31 passes for 74 yards while getting picked off once in a 10-0 loss Oct. 17.

"We're going to learn from it," Carta-Samuels said. "Four-and-three going into Utah is a lot different than 5-2, so it's a tough one to swallow, but you have to swallow and you have to have a short memory and you have to move on."

The Cowboys averaged 32.3 points in winning their previous three games. Carta-Samuels threw six TDs and was intercepted once during that stretch.

A bright spot for Wyoming has been the play of its defense over the last two games, holding opponents to 23 points after surrendering an average of 28.4 in its previous five contests.

Sophomore linebacker Brian Hendricks was named MWC defensive player of the week for his performance against Air Force. He set a Wyoming single-game record with 23 tackles, topping Frank Erzinger's 21 against New Mexico in 1972.

Hendricks, Weston Johnson and Gabe Knapton form a strong linebacker unit for the Cowboys. The trio has 15 tackles for loss.

The Cowboys' defense played better than the score would indicate against the Utes last season. Wyoming held Utah to 242 yards, but was hurt by a terrible performance offensively and on special teams.

The Utes leads the series 49-31-1.