Key storylines for Utah football vs. West Virginia

Two teams looking to keep pace in the Big 12 race clash on Saturday, as Utah and West Virginia are set to square off in a pivotal matchup for both sides after suffering losses in their respective league openers.

Kickoff from Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia, is set for 3:30 p.m. local time (12:30 p.m. PT/1:30 p.m. MT), with viewing options on Fox.

Here's a look at some notable storylines, as well as a few key statistics, heading into the Week 5 contest.

A couple of "hungry" sidelines

Coming off disheartening losses the week prior, neither the Utes nor the Mountaineers will be expected to hold back once they take the field on Saturday.

For Utah, it'll be looking to put a 34-10 loss to Texas Tech in its rearview mirror, along with perhaps its worst display on the defensive side of the ball this season. Because while the Utes weren't particularly efficient on offense, yielding 21 unanswered points and missing 23 total tackles against the Red Raiders were microcosms of a unit that, despite looking stout through the first three quarters, appeared gassed and defeated after Utah managed to make it 13-10 early on in the fourth quarter.

Sep 20, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes tight end Dallen Bentley (88) runs after a catch against Texas Tech Red Raiders defensive back Dontae Balfour (20) and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez (10) during the fourth quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

They were also reminiscent of the flaws last season's team dealt with when put in a position to turn the tide of the outcome.

"We can't let things get away from us like that in the fourth quarter," said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham after the Texas Tech game. "Kind of reminiscent of last year, when we had chances to put people away in the fourth quarter and win a game with one stop and just couldn't do it. So we got to continue to look hard at that."

On the other side, West Virginia will look to bounce back from a 41-10 beatdown at the hands of Kansas in their Big 12 opener. Despite what the final box scores indicated, the Mountaineers never found a rhythm offensively after falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter.

Kansas Jayhawks linebacker Bangally Kamara (1) holds his fist up after making a stop against West Virginia Mountaineers during the first half of the game against West Virginia Mountaineers at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Sept. 20, 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"We're gonna have our hands full," said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham during his weekly press conference. "They'll be fired up. They're coming off a loss like us, and when you're coming off a loss, you're hungry, and so we're gonna get their best shot."

Banged-up Mountaineers

Fans should expect to see a few lengthy availability reports from the Mountaineers ahead of Saturday's game, as they continue to deal with injuries to a handful of their top players on the offensive side of the ball.

West Virginia's top running back, Tye Edwards, who didn't play in the Kansas game, has already been verbally categorized by head coach Rich Rodriguez as "probably still doubtful" due to a nagging hip-pointer injury. Edwards had 25 carries for 141 yards and three touchdowns in his team's 31-24 overtime win over Pitt in Week 3.

Aug 30, 2025; Morgantown, West Virginia, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers running back Tye Edwards (2) warms up prior to their game against the Robert Morris Colonials at Milan Puskar Stadium. | Ben Queen-Imagn Images

The Mountaineers' rushing attack struggled without Edwards in the lineup for the Jayhawks game, despite what the final stats indicate. While West Virginia was able to total 181 rushing yards on 4.4 per carry against Kansas, a majority of that production came when the final outcome was essentially decided.

Additionally, quarterback Nicco Marchiol has been experiencing some foot pain "for a while," according to Rodriguez, requiring a specialist from Colorado to take a look while West Virginia prepares a contingency plan.

Jaylen Henderson could be a viable option for the Mountaineers given his dual-threat capabilities. But only time (specifically, the availability reports) will tell what West Virginia might have planned for Saturday's contest.

What will Utah's offense look like?

Speaking of injuries, Utah hasn't had the cleanest bill of health in recent weeks either.

After ruling defensive back Rabbit Evans and wide receiver Daidren Zipperer out for the season, Whittingham had to announce on Tuesday before the West Virginia game that versatile H-back Hunter Andrews would also have to sit out the remainder of the 2025 campaign due to injury.

Sep 13, 2025; Laramie, Wyoming, USA; Utah Utes tight end Hunter Andrews (10) carries the ball for a touchdown as tackle Mike Tauteoli (49) blocks in the fourth quarter against the Wyoming Cowboys at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

In addition to being Utah's third leading rusher, Andrews also had eight receptions for 63 yards through the first four games of the season, bringing quite the flexible skillset to the Utes' offensive unit. With the 6-foot-3, 230-pound redshirt freshman out of the equation, it might look to involve Nate Johnson, Smith Snowden and/or Bryce Duke more in the backfield moving forward, with Dallen Bentley and JJ Buchanan likely stepping up even more so at the tight end position.

Utah's passing attack has already endured its share of struggles in recent weeks, and with Devon Dampier possibly still hampered by an injury he suffered late in the team's win over Wyoming, it'll be worth monitoring how the Utes move the ball against a Mountaineers defense that ranks No. 12 in the Big 12 in passing yards allowed per game (191.5).

Now, a quick look at some key statistics going into the matchup.

362: Combined wins between head coaches

Two coaches who rank among the top 10 in active wins go head-to-head for the seventh time in their respective careers on Saturday, with Rodriguez holding a slight edge (4-3) over Whittingham in the head-to-head count.

West Virginia Mountaineers head coach Rich Rodriguez looks at plays during the first half of the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium on Sept. 20, 2025. | Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With a win against the Mountaineers, Whittingham would also tie Kansas' Lance Leipold for No. 6 on the leaderboard for the most wins among active Power Four head coaches. Whittingham is currently tied with the recently-fired Oklahoma State head coach, Mike Gundy, for seventh-most with 171 career victories.

Rodriguez, boasting 192 wins on his résumé, sits at No. 4 on that well-respected list.

223.9: Combined average rush yards between the two teams

Utah ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 with 242.8 rushing yards per game. West Virginia isn't too far behind with 205 yards on the ground per contest, which ranks No. 4 in the league. Considering Utah's tendencies with Dampier under center and the lingering questions the Mountaineers have at the quarterback position, it wouldn't be surprising to see both teams lean on their productive run games once again on Saturday.

89: Utah's TD conversion rate in red zone (percentage)

The Utes have finished 89% of their trips to the red zone with a touchdown score this season, putting them in a select group of 10 teams with a conversion rate of 85% or higher (Old Dominion, Arkansas, Washington, Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Florida State, Air Force, Vanderbilt, Louisiana-Monroe).

13: Sacks by West Virginia's defense

The Mountaineers are tied for the Big 12 lead with 13 sacks through their first four games, equating to a rough average of 3.3 per game. Chase Wilson leads the charge with 3.0 on the season, putting him right behind Utah's John Henry Daley (6.0) on the Big 12 leaderboard.

The Utes, conversely, have allowed three sacks in four games.

3: Games played in EST for Utah since 2014

Whittingham downplayed the expedited travel schedule his team arranged for Saturday's 3:30 p.m. EST kickoff, though it was still worth mentioning in his weekly press conference; perhaps due to the rarity of playing outside of the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones.

In fact, Saturday will be just the fourth regular-season game played in the Eastern Time Zone for
the Utes since 2014. The previous three occurrences: Utah defeated Michigan, 26-10, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Sept. 20, 2014; lost to Florida, 29-26) in Gainesville, Florida, on Sept. 3, 2022; and beat UCF, 28-14, in Orlando in the regular season finale last year on Nov. 29.