#1 - Timing. Playing Utah early in the season benefits BYU for several reasons. First, healthy starters. If we learned anything last year, we know that we matchup well with Utah at the top of the depth chart, but it only takes a few injuries for their superior depth to become a factor.

#2 - New Utah OC & Offensive scheme. Sure, Ludwig is an experienced OC, and he has been at Utah before. But that doesn’t mean he has the personnel in place to run his offense or that all the kinks will be ironed out early in the season. Look for Utah’s O to start out slow.

#3 - Sitake. The Sitake era has had some ups and downs, but each of his teams the past 3 years have matched up well with Utah. Even with our worst team/season in 50+ years he managed to keep the game close. He has an experienced staff, and now the majority of starters are his recruits.

#4 - Zach Wilson. He proved a lot in his performance in the rivalry last year. He’s got the skillset, the mental fortitude, and the work ethic to be great. Having 2-3 quality RB’s in the backfield will take some of the pressure off him also.

#5 - BYU running game - Sitake and Grimes have done a great job recruiting quality OL and RB’s. We have a solid 2-deep OL rotation and 2-3 quality backs. Has that ever happened? Utah’s D-line will be tough, no question. But I think BYU’s running game will surprise a lot of people this year. Starting on Aug 29th.