This Week :: Utah

by Jake Bertalotto on Aug 27, 2007 8:39 AM PDT in Football Comment 1 comment

We are now inside five days from kickoff, so it's time to take a look at this week's opponent: The Utes of Utah.

Date and Time: August 30th, 2007 :: 7:02
TV: Fox Sports Northwest
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
All-time series: Oregon State leads 4-8-1
Last meeting: 1992 (Utah 42, OSU 9)

Utah, At a Glance:

Last Year: 8-5 overall, 5-3 Mountain West (Tied for 3rd)

Head Coach: Kyle Whittingham (15-10 in 2 years at Utah)

Returning Starters: 16: 9 offense, 5 defense. Kicker, punter.

Offense, in a nutshell: QB Brian Johnson is back after a redshirt year in 2006 that he spent nursing his knee. There is depth at receiver and running back, and the offense could be dangerous. Luckily, the Beavers have a talented defense to stop it.

Defense, in a nutshell: The Utes are now without All American CB/RB Eric Weddle, the hub of their defense from last year. They only return five starters to the defense, and will start several sophomores. The linebackers have the most experience, but both the line and the secondary are relitevely young.

Oregon State wins if: The QB situation is handled effectively, and we play to our potential. Yvenson Bernard needs to have a good game to help out Lyle and Sean, who also need to have good games to help themselves out. A definite starter likely won't be decided in this game, but any passing we can get would be a bonus.

Utah wins if: QB Brian Johnson returns with the same talent he had in 2005, and they get their running game settled. The Ute offense will likely have a rough time against the Beaver defense, but if everything comes together for Utah, it could be a different story.

GO BEAVERS!

--JB--

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Game plan

The Beavers should run the ball down their throats on the first few possessions just to calm the nervs of the new QBs.

The thing i will be watching the most is how the receivers do. Johnson and Powers will be ok, Anthony Brown will take a lot of the catching burden, and i expect Bernard to get several screen plays too.

by Alan on Aug 27, 2007 1:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs