WVU football was not the only Big 12 school that suffered a brutal loss on Saturday. This week’s match against the Utah Utes will feature two Big 12 teams reeling from tough losses in Week 4.
Like WVU, Utah got handled on Saturday by the Texas Tech Red Raiders. However, unlike WVU, Utah’s crushing loss was in front of their home crowd in Salt Lake City, Utah after hosting Fox's Big Noon Kickoff. With a local 10 a.m. kickoff, the Utes were embarrassed at home via a 34-10 score in favor of 4-0 Texas Tech to begin their morning.
Like Utah, WVU did not have a good game on Saturday. The Mountaineers lost their matchup against Kansas by a final score of 41-10. The Utes lost by 24 and the Mountaineers lost by 31. Not much went right for either team on Saturday, but turning our attention to the Utes and the Mountaineers meeting on Saturday, September 27, we will dive into how the Utes look compared to the Mountaineers.
The Utes were in the game for much of Saturday, and the same can't be said for the Mountaineers. Texas Tech did not start to pull away from Utah until the fourth quarter. Utah had an eight-play 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown, which brought Utah just three points behind Texas Tech with a score of 13-10 with around 10 minutes left to play in the fourth. For the Utes, that would be the closest they would come to tying the game, and the wheels started to fall off very quickly for the Utes. Texas Tech would go on to score 21 unanswered points to give the impression that Texas Tech controlled the game for the whole day.
Unlike WVU, Utah was competitive throughout the first three and a half quarters before Texas Tech ran away with it in the last half of the fourth quarter. Examining what Utah brings to the field, they will certainly look to lean on the dual-threat ability of Devon Dampier. Dampier is the Utes' leading passer and rusher with 790 passing yards and 225 rushing yards. WVU has had major trouble with mobile quarterbacks in 2025, losing to two very mobile quarterbacks, Ohio’s Parker Navarro and Kansas’ Jalon Daniels. The Utes will certainly be relying on Dampier to have the same success that Navarro and Daniels had against the WVU defense. Dampier has seven passing touchdowns compared to only two interceptions in 2025; he has also added one rushing touchdown.
Only one wide receiver has been reliant for the Utes. Ryan Davis has 29 receptions for 215 receiving yards through the first four games for the Utes. No other listed wide receiver has more than five. The Utes have a tight end who has hauled in 17 receptions in the first four games. A listed cornerback, Smith Snowden, has recorded 10 receptions to begin the year. As for the next leading rusher, the Utes' running back Wayshawn Parker has 214 rushing yards on 33 carries and has reached the endzone with his legs three times so far in 2025.
Along the defensive front, the struggling WVU offensive linemen are going to have their hands full with John Henry Daley in the trenches for the Utes. Henry Daley has registered six sacks already through four games to begin the 2025 season. Henry Daley has also forced two fumbles this season. WVU ball carriers need to be aware of that fact before heading into their game against the Utes.
In the back end of the Utes' defense, safety Jackson Bennee has been a game-changer for Utah. Bennee has a team-leading three passes defensed with a team-leading three interceptions, while also racking up 19 total tackles (12 solo), and is second on the team with 19 tackles. Bennee is also a gifted runner when getting an interception, as he has 103 interception return yards and one interception return touchdown.
Before their loss to Texas Tech, Utah was ranked 16th, but fell out of the AP Top 25 after their loss. Regardless of the rankings, WVU will have a very tough task handling Utah after its loss.