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It may not seem like a must-win, but it is. http://bit.ly/2dYiPAa";>The Utes need this game.

Here's why: UCLA, Washington, Arizona State, Oregon, Colorado. That's the slate after this two-game stretch against Arizona and Oregon State, and it has three South contenders, a top-10 team and the surprisingly down Ducks who — let's face it — still could put up a lot of points.

http://bit.ly/2e02kqc";>While Utah is beat up with a bye still a month away, Arizona's comparably injured roster doesn't give the Utes any excuse against a team it is favored to beat by double digits. With four of its final six on the road, and harder teams coming up, if Utah wants to stay on track in the South Division race, it starts with winning this weekend.

If the Utes fail to prevail, maybe RichRod really does have Utah's number.

Time, Place and [Radio Waves in] Space • It's Homecoming weekend at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the Utes and Wildcats kick off at 8 p.m. (really 8:15 p.m. MDT) on Fox Sports 1. Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman and Bruce Feldman are the broadcast team on the telly, or Bill Riley and Frank Dolce have the call on ESPN 700. By kickoff, the temperature will have dropped from the low 70s to perhaps the high 40s, so dress for football weather (though there won't be rain this time).

There is a lot going on this weekend: It's the Crimson Club Hall of Fame induction, so there will be a ceremony honoring the newcomers, including the 1994 football team that won 10 games, had a top-10 finish, and did something the Utes haven't done in the last four years — beat Arizona. Pace Mannion, Kim Smith and Pat Miller will also be honored among others. Utah baseball coach Bill Kinneberg and former goalkeeper Lindsey Luke will also receive awards related to their success last season. Kyle Whittingham is still on the hunt for his 100th coaching win. http://bit.ly/2d9wk12";>The Utes will host a number of potentially impactful recruits.

Line • According to Vegas Insider, http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/teams/team-page.cfm/team/utah";>the Utes are favored by 10 points at home. The line opned at nine points for the Utes. Utah is 2-3 against the spread this year, having been favored to win in every game.

Opposing Coach • https://twitter.com/kylegoon/status/783029082497781761";>Utah fans tell me that Rich Rodriguez did in fact once lose to Kyle Whittingham in 2008, and historical documents from that time indicate it happened. But the evidence gathered since is quite slanted: http://bit.ly/2dnQm7T";>Rodriguez is 4-0 against Utah and Whittingham. His star rose in the coaching ranks when he took West Virginia to a BCS bowl, but he flamed out at Michigan after only three seasons. RichRod seems to have a better pace going with a 30-23 record at Arizona now his his fifth season, but between injuries and Colorado's rise, the Wildcats appear to be in danger of falling behind the rest of the South after winning the division in 2014. He's well known for his high-tempo spread scheme, and Arizona seems to run the ball well every year — this season is no exception ranking No. 18 rushing, even though the wins have been hard to come by.

Utah Ties • There's not a ton of crossover between programs. The Utes have three players who hail from the Grand Canyon State (four if you count Kavika Luafatasaga from Arizona Western College). The Wildcats have exactly one: freshman linebacker Kahi Neves, http://bit.ly/1pJSKTa";>who was once committed to the Utes and hoped to play quarterback.

Pregame Quotable • Utah has already faced a precocious freshman quarterback this year against USC,http://www.latimes.com/sports/usc/la-sp-usc-football-20160926-snap-story.html";> and it was a struggle. RichRod talked about Khalil Tate on Monday as a gamer when the 17-year-old came in to face UCLA: "He was more composed in the game than he was in practice, so that was pleasant. Sometimes guys get in their first action and the lights are too bright, but he was spot on. Even when he made a wrong read, he knew right away. That part of it was very encouraging."

Media Guide Nugget • Who in the Pac-12 has the longest streak of games with at least one catch? That would be senior receiver Nate Phillips, who doesn't just lead the league, but all Power 5 players with a streak of 38 games.

Pro Football Focus Revelations • Each week,https://www.profootballfocus.com/college-football/";> Pro Football Focus compiles observations and grades for Utah's game from the previous week. This week, here's what stuck out in the report:

1. While injuries have helped propel him forward on the depth chart, sophomore Armand Shyne has merited his expected first career start on Saturday. Against Cal, he had a 74.7 rating, ranking 12th against all running backs, and accumulated 79 yards after contact.

2. Senior Pita Taumoepenu was the standout on defense, with an 86.6 grade to lead PFF's Edge Defender category. He was solid against both the pass (86.8) and the run (79.4), with eight quarterback pressures. All other defensive linemen fared average or below average against Cal's offense, according to the PFF grading system.

3. While Brian Allen was at the forefront of the touchdown passes in coverage last weekend, PFF graded Dominique Hatfield as the defensive back with the most struggles, getting graded 38.5 to rank 190th among all corners. Allen, Hatfield and Justin Thomas (all seniors) all got below average grades in coverage.

4. PFF said it was a bounce-back week for senior guard Isaac Asiata, who had his best grade of the season at 81.5. He led the way in Utah's run-blocking.

Wildcats Offensive Outlook • Look away. Arizona had one of the best rushing attacks in the country with Brandon Dawkins at quarterback and Nick Wilson and J.J. Taylor at running back. All are hurt. Add that to a beat-up offensive line, and it's hard to know how Arizona's offense will look on Saturday. If Dawkins isn't healthy, it falls on 6-foot-2 Khalil Tate, who had an admirable debut last week in a difficult situation. He can run and pass (79 yards rushing, 72 yards passing), so from a skillset perspective, he's got what it takes. Tyrell Johnson is the current running back, but really is a wide receiver (120 yards on the ground). If Utah's defensive linehttp://bit.ly/2dw13WQ";> has Lowell Lotulelei healthy, it could go a long way to helping plug some gaps in the run game against a unit that has traditionally fared well against the Utes.

Neither Dawkins nor Tate appears to be a prolific passer in the mold of injured Anu Solomon, who had a big day last year against the Utes before getting hurt. That's not exactly ideal for Arizona, which has a talented receiving corps between Shun Brown, Trey Griffey, Samajie Grant and Nate Phillips. Grant, Phillips and Griffey have lit up Utah in the past, and the Utes secondary is coming off a game in which http://bit.ly/2duFCWD";>it surrendered four touchdowns of 24 yards or more. Big plays will have to be limited more than they were against Cal. Arizona also only has five turnovers this season, so getting a takeaway could be a big swing in this game.

Wildcats Defensive Outlook • Look away. The Wildcats are giving up 29.2 points per game, and 459 yards per contest. That's representative of a front seven that is a little bit slapdash — even before the season started, Arizona was thin on the defensive line. There are two players listed at 247 pounds on the front, which is peanuts compared to Utah's beefy offensive line. At the second level, linebackers Cody Ippolito and Michael Barton have solid tacklers and even dropped runners behind the line of scrimmage, but overall the defense seems to be an undersized match-up for a physical run game like Utah's. Washington had 352 yards on 51 carries two weeks ago — UCLA seemed content to simply pick UA apart with the pass (350 yards).

Arizona has a five-man defensive backfield, including corners who are all upperclassmen. "Bandit" back Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles leads the team in tackles with 27. Again, injuries will be key here: safety Tellas Jones and linebacker DeAndre Miller have both missed games this season, and they might be the most dynamic players on the team. Arizona nine takeaways this season, but six of them came against Grambling State. Again, building a turnover advantage will be key, and the Utes can't cough it up against a team that will give them yards. It's probably also worth noting that Arizona's opponents have scored 14 touchdown in 19 red zone appearances.

Wildcats Special Teams Outlook • Kicker Josh Pollack is 5-for-6 this season with his only miss coming from beyond 50 yards. He's the rare dual-threat, also handling punts for a 44.6-yard average. Arizona has yet to allow a kick or punt to be returned for a touchdown this year. Phillips handles punt returns, and Cam Denson handles kickoff duties.

Injury Report • It's a long one. Utah has some question marks for the following players: defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei, receiver Cory Butler-Byrd, receiver Tim Patrick, receiver Kyle Fulks, corner Reggie Porter, running back Troy McCormick and center Lo Falemaka. The Utes are hopeful that Patrick and Lotulelei can play, but all others are unknown. One certainty is thathttp://bit.ly/2dDohHm";> senior J.J. Dielman's Utah career is over after a lower leg injury that will put him out for the season. There may be more injured that the Utes haven't talked about yet.

Arizona isn't doing any better: Quarterbacks Anu Solomon and Brandon Dawkins are up in the air for the game, as are running back Nick Wilson and offensive lineman Freddie Tagaloa. Two defensive linemen, a fullback and a receiver are out. Two offensive linemen and linebacker DeAndre Miller are "probable." The Arizona accounting of injuries is not necessarily a full report. But there's a distinct possibility the team starts a freshman quarterback, a receiver-turned-running back, and as many as three different linemen from the preferred starting group.

Three Big Questions

1. Can Utah stop Arizona's rushing attack? While Arizona's rushing attack will likely be manned by fresh faces, the scheme has been so successful in the past that it gives Utah fans nightmares. Between Ka'Deem Carey and Wilson, http://bit.ly/2e3B3Ds";>Wildcat running backs have run to the moon and back on the Utes' defense. It will be on Utah's linebackers and safeties to maintain absolute discipline against the run, play assignment sound and make the tackles when a running back or quarterback comes barrelling at them. It's a huge test for linebackers Sunia Tauteoli, Kavika Luafatasaga and Cody Barton who have been the question mark of the defense since spring.

2. Can the Utes control the pace and secure the ball on offense? Utah's power run game was the centerpiece of the offensive attack last week, with Armand Shyne and Zack Moss looking unstoppable at times (until the end). Against a beat-up Arizona front, it's an opportunity for Utah to control the pacing of the game, grind down the defense and help open up quarterback Troy Williams to make passes potentially without his favorite target http://bit.ly/2dreIgX";>if Patrick isn't healthy enough to play. There's also a big risk at center: If the snaps are low, high or just generally off, the ball could be squirting around in the backfield. Arizona typically takes good care of the ball, so Utah can't start coughing up fumbles and expect to win (and one could argue against BYU, they got away with it once already).

3. Who is healthy? That one kind of speaks for itself. Utah could really use Patrick, Porter and Lotulelei, not to mention Falemaka who is already the third-string center. Arizona could really use Wilson, and all the healthy defenders it can get. Then there's always the possibility more players could go down. Neither Utah nor Arizona wants to test its depth any more than it is already doing.

kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon