Washington State Cougars: Game 4 at Utah – injuries, weather, odds, and more
Ed Stein
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Washington State Football continues this week as the Cougars head to Utah. Pacific Northwest Sports has all you need to know.
PNWS presents what you need to know as the Washington State Cougars face Utah in Salt Lake City. Pacific Northwest Sports has Cougs fans covered with all you need to know.
Details
Who: Washington State Cougars (1-2) at Utah Utes (1-2).
Where: Rice-Eccles Stadium – Salt Lake City, UT.
When: Saturday, September 25, 2021 – 11:30 a.m. PST.
TV: Pac-12 Network. Announcers: Roxy Bernstein, Lincoln Kennedy.
Weather: It will be a beautiful day in Salt Lake City. Sunny skies and temperatures hovering around 80 degrees.
Line: Washington State +15. Over/Under: 53.5 (Odds Shark).
Interesting Trends: The trends don’t look good for Washington State. The Cougars are:
- 1-5 in their last six games.
- 1-6 in their previous seven road games.
If you are betting, the outlook is also somewhat bleak. Against the spread, Wazzu is:
- 1-6 in their last seven Pac-12 games.
- Winless in their last six games overall.
- Winless in their last seven games played in September.
The good news is that WSU covered six of the last nine against the Utes.
On the other side, Utah was winners in 12 of 18 overall games. They are even tougher at home with a 14-1 record the last few seasons. Against Pac-12 teams, they covered 11 of their last 14 games.
Injury Report
Washington State Cougars
Out – WR Renard Bell (knee). Probable – QB Jarrett Guarantano (knee). Questionable – DB Armani Marsh (undisclosed), QB Jayden de Laura (undisclosed), DB Jaylon Watson (undisclosed).
Utah Utes
Out – QB Charlie Brewer (left team), DT Viane Moala (undisclosed), S R.J. Hubert (Achillies), DB JaTravis Broughton.
Last Game
USC 45 – Washington State 14
It was enough to make even the most die-hard Washington State Cougars fan vomit in their crimson hat. WSU went up 14-0 in the second quarter and knocked out USC starting quarterback Kedon Slovis. They were doing great until the final minute of the first half. Then it all fell apart.
Freshman QB Jaxson Dart rallied the Trojans, who scored the next 45 points. Making his NCAA debut, Dart threw four TD passes.
The offense disintegrated while WSU’s defense could stop the Trojan passing attack. Cougars quarterback Jayden de Laura was also KO’d for the game after suffering a knee injury. Cammon Cooper and Victor Gabalis finished up for him.
San Diego State 33 – Utah 31
After getting out to a 10-3 lead, the Utes were run over by San Diego State, who scored three straight touchdowns. Through three quarters, Utah trailed by 14 points. They rallied in the fourth quarter behind second-string QB Cameron Rising.
Rising hit Theo Howard for a four-yard score with eight seconds left in the game and followed it up two-point conversion strike to Connor O’Toole. They eventually lost on a failed two-point conversion in the third overtime.
Outlook
The Cougars get quarterback Jarrett Guarantano back this week, and maybe he can jump-start a stagnant offense. If Washington State can take advantage of their two great running backs, Max Borghi and Deon McIntosh, they can keep the game close. It’s also up to the defense to make stops when it counts. USC was 8 of 16 last week on third and fourth down.
The Utes will be out for payback after a heartbreaking loss at SDSU. They do have a bit of turmoil themselves. Cameron Rising took over for Charlie Brewer at quarterback last week and rallied Utah. Head Coach Kyle Whittingham named Rising the starter this week, and Brewer quit the team.
Utah is over a two-touchdown favorite for a reason. At Rice-Eccols Stadium, the Utes are hard to beat under the best of circumstances. That doesn’t mean the Cougs are cannon fodder; they have to buck up and play hard for 60 minutes.
Catch up with PNWS on Sunday when we present our biggest takeaways from the game.