Weekend Preview Week 7: Big Time Opponents Come To Town For Utes and Cougs

October 14, 2022 Eric Jensen CFB, Nfl, Uncategorized 0

Each week Eric Jensen takes you into the weekend and previews the biggest games. Check out the week 7 weekend preview now! Utah takes on USC at home and SEC player, Arkansas comes to town for BYU. A lot to get into in the week 7 weekend preview! 

BYU Week 7 Weekend Preview

The Cougars take on Arkansas, the Razorbacks have been a middle of the road SEC team so far this year but are defined by their physical trenches.

This is of course not a good matchup for a BYU defensive front that has been bullied back-to-back weeks. To win BYU will need to get pressure, they have not shown they can do that this year.

Arkansas ranks as one of the best pass blocking teams in the country according to PFF. The Razorbacks clock in with a score of 83 in that department.

It appears Razorbacks star QB KJ Jefferson is back at practice this week and while whether he starts or not will not be known until gameday, early indicators seem to point toward Jefferson starting.

Jefferson in his starts this year for the Razorbacks has been spectacular. Already Jefferson has 1,000 yards passing this year and has thrown for touchdowns nine times.

Meanwhile, the veteran QB has limited turnovers throwing only one interception this year. On the other side Cougar fans hold their breath on Jaren Hall, who looked clearly injured against Notre Dame. If BYU’s starter isn’t 100 percent there are even more reasons for concern for the program going into Saturday.

The Cougs will need to be able to keep up with Arkansas offensively if they want a shot at this game. BYU’s defense cannot keep them in games right now. That’s just an unfortunate fact.

Losing to Arkansas at home, that would be another bump. Yet, another massive bump in the road for a Cougars season that is on its way off the rails. A win here is a must-have if the Cougars want a ten-win season.

Utah

Utah’s situation is not quite as dire as BYU’s but the schedule is much tougher. Even if Utah gets a win against USC this week they still have to see a tough Wazzu team in Pullman, and a trip to Autzen to play Oregon in late November.

To stay competitive in the Pac-12 and vie for a shot at the title game the Utes need to be near perfect the rest of the way. This is asking a lot of a team with developing holes at the defensive line and an inability to stop the run. That paired with the fact that when Cam Rising is asked to carry this offense things don’t go well set up for several major challenges down the stretch for the Utes.

Kyle Whittingham is the best coach Utah has ever had though. His resume buys him some time and respect, if the defense looks like world-beaters the rest of the way, I’ll be unsurprised. Things have to turn around though. Recovering from a one game skid is one thing, recovering from a two-game skid and a loss at home, that’s something entirely different.

It’s not time to hit the panic button yet, but if the Utes were ever to lose by more than a touchdown at home to the Trojans, things could get incredibly hairy.

The Trojan’s strength on offense these past few weeks has been their impressive running game and offensive line, if the Utes can’t stop the run early, things could get tough.

Utah’s secondary is good enough to shut down the Trojan’s weapons, it will be a matter of keeping the run game quiet.

I won’t ever pick against Utah, at home, at night, coming off a loss. You’ll never catch me doing that.

USU

The Aggies are a ten-point road favorite against Colorado State. If the program ever lost this game it would be a downright catastrophe. That said, the team is playing its best football of the year and should be able to get the win.

Especially considering CSU is down to backups at QB. The gameplan should once again be, lean on Calvin Tyler and the running game and grind down this CSU front. Throw in timely runs from Cooper Legas and a few vertical plays from Brian Cobbs and the Aggies should be in pretty good shape.

The Aggie defense has also found its stride in recent weeks and should be expected to once again make plays in this one. If USU wins this week and next I’ll be sold on the narrative that they have a shot once again at the Mountain West conference title game.

NFL

Just some brief picks this weekend.

Jets 27 Packers 20: Zach Wilson continues to establish himself. How are the Packer’s wide outs getting open against this great Jets secondary?

Bills 35 Chiefs 33: Josh Allen prevails in the rematch, Chiefs fans will be wondering about the offense after this one. The group has been sporadic over the past few weeks.

Cowboys 24 Eagles 21: A case of the Cowboy’s defense just being much better than people think. They will break down a stellar offensive line and give Jalen Hurts fits. Hurts has also struggled in division games, this looks like yet another spot where questions could be asked.

Seahawks 42 Cardinals 21: Geno, that’s the analysis. And the Cardinals are a rudderless ship.

Thanks for checking out the week 7 weekend preview.