Three Things to Know About Oklahoma State’s Week 4 Opponent, Utah

For the first time ever, Utah will play a football game in Stillwater.

Saturday at 3 p.m. will mark the start of a lot. It will not only be the Utes’ first trip to Boone Pickens Stadium, but also their first Big 12 game since officially joining the conference last summer. Oklahoma State has played Utah only once before — a 46-6 win in 1945 in Salt Lake City. With all that newness comes unknown, so here are three things to know about Utah ahead of the Week 4 matchup.

1. Welcome to the Big 12

As mentioned earlier, this is Utah’s inaugural season in the Big 12. The Utes have hopped conferences twice since leaving the Mountain West in 2011. And the last move into the Pac-12 definitely paid off.

The Utes ruled the Pac-12 the last decade, winning two of the last three conference titles before leaving. That success in a conference now grasping for air had Utah as the favorite to win the Big 12 in its first season in the conference.

So far this season, Utah is 3-0 with a 23-12 win over Big 12 member Baylor that was counted as a nonconference matchup since it was scheduled before conference realignment.

2. Utah Has Its Own (Less Interesting) Gundy

Although Utah switched conferences, that’s basically the only thing different in Salt Lake City.

Kyle Whittingham has been leading the Utes for 20 seasons now. He was hired the same offseason as OSU coach Mike Gundy. That timing mixed with the consistent success at programs with less resources have influenced comparison between the two since even before they shared a conference.

Here’s the wildest stat leading up to the first time these coaches meet Saturday: Whittingham is 165-79 in 20 seasons. Gundy in 20 seasons is 169-79. That shows why these two coaches have been compared so much, especially since Big 12 Media Days.

3. The Utes Also Have Their Own Seventh-Year QB

Speaking of guys doing the same thing for a really long time.

Again like OSU, Utah has a seventh-year quarterback in Cam Rising. He started his career at Texas before transferring to Utah, where he has been since 2019. During that span, Rising has started 27 games and led the Utes to back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021 and ’22.

Rising’s career has been hindered by injuries, though. Twice his season has ended because of injury, which is why his career has been prolonged. That’s already been an issue this season, too. Rising missed Utah’s last game after running into a water cooler on the sideline Week 2 against Baylor, injuring his throwing hand. His status for Saturday hasn’t been confirmed yet, but he’s expected to play after being available to the media earlier this week and a Utah receiver also mentioned he expected Rising to play.