The 13th-ranked Utah Utes return to the field on Saturday against Southern Utah. After a Week 1 loss to Florida, the Utes will be looking for a get-right kind of performance against the Thunderbirds.

“It’s going to be great playing in front of our home crowd at Rice-Eccles,” coach Kyle Whittingham said this week. “A lot of football left. I like this team a lot and I think we can win a bunch of games this year.”

But to do so Utah will need to be better on the defensive side of the football. In the 29-26 loss to the Gators, Utah’s run defense was too soft, Whittingham said. As a team, Florida ran for 283 yards. It averaged 7.3 yards per carry, the most by a Utah opponent in a game since at least 2000.

“I think this team’s got a bunch of wins in it this year,” Whittingham said. “We’ll see how far we can take it. One game early in the season is not going to derail that as long as the leadership stays strong and everyone stays focused. I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t happen.”

We’ll find out soon how the last week of prep has gone. Here’s all the info you need to get ready for the game.

TV and kickoff time

Kickoff time: 10:30 a.m. PT

TV Network: Pac-12 Network

Betting odds

Line: Utah -44.5

Total: 58.5

Money line: N/A

Via DraftKings

Expert predictions

ESPN’s FPI gives Utah a 99.4% chance of beating the Thunderbirds.

Bill Connelly’s SP+ model predicts a 58-3 win for the Utes.

CFN’s Pete Fiutak is picking the Utes to win 45-3:

Utah usually doesn’t use these types of games to bury teams. It gets the job done, gets the backups in, and gets out – it’s highly doubtful this will be a 65-0 wipeout, and it’s not likely that any sort of a statement will need to be made. This is about tweaking, getting back on track, and getting ready for SDSU. It’ll be over after a few drives.

KSL.com’s Josh Furlong has Utah winning:

No reason to get too worked up about a pay game for the Thunderbirds, who transitioned from the Big Sky to the WAC this season. On the bright side for fans, it’s the first time to see the team in person at Rice-Eccles Stadium this season — and it’s an early kickoff, so there’s plenty to do after the game. The bad news, it’s a midday game in the middle of September — bring the sunscreen!