Both Utah and Washington State are coming off bye weeks. The two sides getting to play on a Thursday night means they’ll get back-to-back games with a bit of extra prep time. Utah’s Kyle Whittingham said earlier this week that when you’re constructing the ideal schedule, it doesn’t get much better than this.

Of course, good vibes will turn sour pretty fast for the team sitting on the wrong side of the scoreboard Thursday night. And things can get weird in Pullman, especially when you add a night game environment and a weeknight game to the situation. Washington State enters with a 25-18-2 all-time record when playing on Thursdays.

The Cougars are looking for a second win over a ranked opponent this season. The Utes are looking to stay hot after overcoming then-No. 7 USC back on Oct. 15.

Bill Connelly’s SP+ is rolling with the Utes.

The predictive model is calling for a 32-23 Utah win, giving the Utes a 69% chance of winning the game.

Utah is 5-4 against the Cougars since joining the Pac-12. It has won three straight overall in the series, but has lost each of the last two meetings played in Pullman.

“Washington State’s a good football team,” Whittingham said. “Should be a good contest for us and we’re going to have to play our best. There’s no doubt about it.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT on FS1.