and as far as the QB, but I will also add the Oline vs Dline to that. You can have a good QB but Utah has a clear advantage on both sides of the trenches if you believe numbers.
One team returns ALL Oline ("#5" experience FWIW) AND Dline (#13) starters and a senior QB (if starts are important here as well) that has played on New Years. I know Brewer had a tough year last year but back to the Oline being crappy and no rushing game (2.7 YPC and Brewer was #2 on the team) makes that tough. If he isn't the starter, well, that should say something about Rising. Question is does BYU have a Dline to pressure him?
The other side Oline returns 3 starters ("#51" experience) again, against all starters and QBs with very little experience going against a Utah type defense. I've heard BYU has Oline guys with backup experience, Utah has that for days of defense. What's worse, having a tough year or not playing at all? When has Utah's defense made life easy on the BYU QB, especially in game #2? Whoever BYU's QB is, they haven't gone against Utah's DL, LBs, and DBs. You won't push around Dlines just by weight like you did last year, well except CCU that is.
What we don't know, is if Utah's RBs are every bit as good (if not better) as BYU's behind the Oline that has been pretty good at opening holes.