ESPN's SP+ projects score of No. 12 Utah's Week 3 matchup with Weber State
Bill Connelly’s SP+ is projecting just a 7% chance that Weber State will pull off an upset this weekend against No. 12 Utah (2-0).
The predictive model predicts a 40-15 Utah win on Saturday. This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two programs; Utah has won each of the previous six games against the Wildcats.
Weber State is 2-0 so far this season following a 34-17 road win at Northern Iowa last week. The Wildcats are ranked No. 7 in the latest FCS Coaches Poll.
Against the Panthers last week, the score was tied at 17-17 entering halftime. For the second week in a row, Weber State shut out its opponent in the second half. The Wildcats forced six total turnovers — three picks, three fumbles — in the win while tailback Damon Bankston ran for a career-high 144 yards and three touchdowns.
Bankston has run for 265 yards and five touchdowns through his first two games. He’s averaging 7.5 yards per carry.
The Wildcats also have a home run hitter on special teams. All-American kick returner Abraham Williams returned a kick 100 yards in Weber State’s opener for his fifth career kickoff return touchdown. Williams had four 100-yard returns last season.
Utah has put the clamps down on its first two opponents this season. Florida scored 11 in the opener and Baylor managed just 13 a week ago. The Utes are giving up 5.6 yards a play so far this year, but they’ve been fantastic on third down (16.7% allowed, second in FBS) and allowed just two touchdowns on seven red zone trips (14th nationally in touchdown rate).
Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.