Fresno State @ Utah preview

Teams that began the season with very different outcomes meet Saturday when Fresno State visits Utah. The Bulldogs are hoping to bounce back from a dismal showing against USC while Utah is looking to build on its convincing 56-14 win over Idaho State. Fresno State allowed 701 yards of total offense in its 52-13 loss to USC and never generated any momentum on offense behind quarterbacks Brian Burrell and Brandon Connette, who figure to share playing time again this Saturday.

While Fresno State’s quarterback situation remains in flux, Utah was bolstered by the return of Travis Wilson, who threw for 265 yards in the first half against Idaho State after missing the final three games last year due to a head injury. The only negative was Utah’s run defense, which allowed 179 yards on the ground against the Bengals after yielding an average of 130 last year. “We’re going to stop the run this week,” linebacker Jared Norris told the Salt Lake Tribune. “We didn’t really show that last week, but last week’s in the past.”

TV: 3 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Network. LINE: Utah -10.5

ABOUT FRESNO STATE (0-1): The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back Mountain West Conference championships, but they were overmatched in every phase of the game against USC. Burrell and Connette combined to throw four interceptions and star receiver Josh Harper was held to six catches for 56 yards. If the game is close late, the Bulldogs may be forced to depend on freshman walk-on kicker Kody Kroening after sophomore Colin McGuire left the team on Tuesday and returned home to Texas for personal reasons.

ABOUT UTAH (1-0): The Utes were encouraged last week by the play of Devontae Booker, who had 78 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his first game in two years. Wilson has plenty of weapons available on offense, led by Dres Anderson, who caught four passes for 111 yards in the opener. Defensive end Nate Orchard had 2.5 sacks for the Utes, who also turned in a strong performance on special teams, where Kaelin Clay returned two kicks for touchdowns.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Utah is 5-4 all-time against Fresno State, including a 17-16 win at the Las Vegas Bowl in 1999.

2. Fresno State is 13-2 under coach Tim DeRuyter when holding opponents under 30 points.

3. Utah cornerback Justin Thomas is expected to play after missing last Saturday’s game for undisclosed reasons.

PREDICTION: Utah 31, Fresno State 17