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Utah Utes football slog behind Devontae Booker through Oregon State to win

For more on Oregon State football, hit up Building the Dam. For more on Utah football, check out Block U.

By Avinash Kunnath
Steve Dykes

Avinash Kunnath: Oregon State and Utah looked like they had top 25 defenses and bottom 25 offenses on Thursday night. The Beavers and Utes were averaging about three yards per play for the first 45 minutes and Utah could not pass the football with either quarterback. Sean Mannion made a few throws and Devontae Booker ran the football a lot and that was pretty much your offense all game long. The Beavers are more dependent on Mannion than ever and don't have a good O-line to protect him or RBs who take pressure off him. It'll be tough for Oregon State going forward.

Booker is making a case for Pac-12 offensive player of the year right now--without him Utah is probably 2-4/3-3, because they just cannot throw the football against good defenses. On the bright side, Utah's defense looks great, and will remain tough to score points on as long as Nate Orchard is causing havoc and Jared Norris plugging gaps. The schedule is about to get a lot tougher, with six top 25 teams coming their way all in a row.

Mark Schipper: Looks like Utah is getting confident. Another good road win (or home, depending on how you view things this year in the Pac-12).

The Utes are good on special teams and run the ball. They always hit hard. Devontae Booker is a solid mid-sized truck. The passing game and QBs, Travis Wilson and Kendal Thompson, are going to be hit and miss. But if they don’t turn over the football and shine every now and again, Utah is something to be feared.

The Beavers, as usual, are all over the place. Sean Mannion spins it pretty good, though. I think Oregon State remains a conference novelty, never to be counted out, but not usually counted in, either.   

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