Utes anticipate ‘raucous crowd’ at Oregon State. Here’s what Beavers coach expects

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Utah will be walking into the most hostile environment it has faced this year and one of the toughest road environments it will face all season.

Utes on the air

No. 10 Utah (4-0)
vs. No. 19 Oregon State (3-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. MDT
Reser Stadium
TV: Fox Sports 1
Radio: ESPN 700/92.1 FM

Baylor, the Utes’ only road game of the season thus far, posed a different challenge, as temperatures reached over 130 degrees on the field. The stands were half-full on a hot day, so crowd noise wasn’t a factor.

Beaver fans, who are as good as any in the country, sold out the newly-renovated Reser Stadium for Friday’s contest, which now seats 35,548. Despite the capacity decrease from 43,363, it’ll still be a loud place to play, especially with this being the Beavers’ last-go around in the Pac-12. I believe Washington State and Oregon State belong in major college football still, though the TV overlords don’t feel that way at this time.

“Man, there’s something about it. I’ve played there only once. I don’t know if it’s the way it’s shaped or what it is, but there’s even a long walk from the locker room to the field and people are just barking at you,” Utah linebacker Karene Reid said. There’s something about the people there. They’re pretty ruthless. So it’s hostile for sure.”

Utah is expecting a tough challenge, preparing for the crowd noise (and multitude of chainsaw sounds) with a soundtrack during practice.

“They do get a pretty raucous crowd in there,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “. ... This week we got that chainsaw noise thing going on, so that gets under your skin. But the fans are pretty much right on top of you. And like I said, they get after it.”

Oregon State is coming off a loss in the “Pac-2 bowl” against Washington State, the first time the two teams have met while ranked. The two schools have joined together in an effort to find a landing place — or rebuild the Pac-12 — in the midst of the conference’s collapse.

The Beavers’ vaunted defense slipped a bit, allowing 38 points, giving up 404 yards and four touchdowns by Cougar quarterback Cameron Ward. Washington State led 35-14 after three quarters, but Oregon State mounted a furious 21-point comeback that fell just short, with the Cougars’ Dean Janikowski kicking what turned out to be the game-winning 44-yard field goal, Washington State’s only score of the fourth quarter.

Like UCLA tried to do last week, the Beavers will attempt to establish the run early on. Just like in previous seasons, Oregon State possesses one of the top rushing offenses in the country, ranked No. 9 with about 225 yards per game.

Damien Martinez (432 yards, one touchdown) and Deshaun Fenwick (253 yards, four touchdowns) lead the way for the Beavers on the ground. One season ago, Utah limited those two backs to 67 total yards, though Utah going up 21-7 early forced Oregon State to throw a little bit more than normal.

The Utes have the third-ranked rushing defense in the nation, giving up an average of just 51 yards per game on the ground, including a dominant performance against Florida’s talented running back duo Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson Jr. It’ll be a show of strength vs. strength on Friday.

Oregon State upgraded its quarterback position with Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei, who adds another dimension to the Beavers’ offense. Uiagalelei has thrown for 828 yards with a 57.8 completion percentage, seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

For Utah, the uncertainty at quarterback continues, as Cam Rising still has yet to make his season debut. The Utes are coming off of a tepid offensive performance in which they scored just seven points and played a fairly conservative game. Quarterback Nate Johnson was 9 for 17 for 117 yards, a touchdown, and fumbled the ball three times, but turned the ball over just once.

“Well, you go off of what they’ve done in four games on tape and that guy’s a good player. He creates, you can see his confidence level getting more and more. He’s athletic to extend the play,” Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith said.

The Beavers will be game planning for Johnson, but if Rising plays, they’ll be ready for him.

“Obviously Cam Rising, yeah, he’s there and has a long history of being a really good player and winning games but haven’t seen it this year on tape. So preparing for these four games we’ve seen and then there’s not going to be a huge adjustment because you look at Rising’s skillset, he can create a whole lot, similar to (Johnson).”

Utah’s defense ranks No. 6 in the country in average points allowed (9.5), and the Utes are still not completely at full strength.

“They do everything well. I mean these guys are physical at the line of scrimmage. They play the scheme, they don’t give you anything easy, they don’t bust out there, they’re not giving you free access throws,” Smith said. “They challenge you. They’re athletic at linebacker, they got pass rush ability. They don’t have to blitz, but they’re going to blitz when they want to. I mean it’s a long history and they’re playing dominant defense right now.”

Just like Utah, the Beavers will first try and shut down Utah’s run game, which has become thin entering Corvallis. Lead back Ja’Quinden Jackson has been dealing with a nagging ankle injury and missed the majority of Utah’s win over UCLA. If Jackson doesn’t play, or is limited, Jaylon Glover will take the mantle of lead back.

Oregon State’s rush defense has been up to the test so far and ranks No. 7 in the country. The Beavers are allowing just 69.8 rushing yards per game.

Elsewhere on defense, linebacker Mascarenas-Arnold has been key with 33 tackles and an interception.

The run game, physicality of the O line ... They’re going to run the ball to set up some action pass down the field that they can make really, really explosive,” Smith said. They a good job with shift in motion pre-snap offensively that you’ve got to have your eyes routed, right? It starts looking like one way and then it turns into something completely different. We got to recognize that.”

Oregon State and Utah will meet for the 26th, and possibly final, time on Friday at 7 p.m. MDT at Reser Stadium in Corvallis.

“We got a good one coming in here on Friday. Got a bunch of respect for Kyle Whittingham, that program, what they’ve established and sustained for a long time,” Smith said.

In case you missed it

Kyle Whittingham always envisioned Jonah Elliss on the defensive line, just like his dad, Luther, was. After a move from linebacker to defensive end in 2022, the younger Elliss has hit an elite level this season and leads the nation in sacks.

From the archives

Related

• Nate Johnson apologizes for Utah’s lackluster offensive performance, but how much of it was his fault?

• Cam Rising, Nate Johnson will continue to split reps this week

• There’s renewed optimism for Utah basketball — and one lingering question — as it opens practice

Extra points

• Utah women’s basketball is already stacked but begins camp with key additions (Deseret News)

• Here is what Utah will be wearing against Oregon State on Friday (Deseret News)

• Matt Gay just made NFL history. Watch the moment he found out and how he celebrated Deseret News)

Up next

• Sept. 28-30 | All day | Women’s and men’s tennis | ITF Circuit Event and ITA Regionals | @ Hilton Head, South Carolina

• Sept. 28-30 | All day | Men’s tennis | ITF Circuit Event and ITA Regionals | @ Colorado Springs, Colorado

• Sept. 28 | 7 p.m. MDT | Women’s soccer | at Oregon State | @ Corvallis, Oregon

• Sept. 29 | All day | Swim & Dive | CMU Intermountain Shootout | @ Grand Junction, Colorado

• Sept. 29 | 7 p.m. MDT | Football | at Oregon State | @ Corvallis, Oregon