Corvallis, Ore. • Utah coach Kyle Whittingham’s observation would have been true, almost regardless of how his team’s game vs. Oregon State played out Saturday night at Reser Stadium. The Utes’ surprisingly easy 52-7 victory made it more accurate.
“The degree of difficulty gets higher,” Whittingham said, anticipating Arizona State’s visit Saturday in a meeting of top 20 teams at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Utah and ASU have identical records (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) and are among four football teams tied for first place in the Pac-12 South.
The Utes eventually will need some help against USC, but they personally need to subdue the Sun Devils, after losing to them each of the past two seasons by a total of 38 points.