SALT LAKE CITY – The series between Arizona and Utah over the past decade has not been relatively close – on either side of the aisle.

In the 12 meetings between the two teams since Utah revived an old WAC rivalry when it joined the Pac-12, only two games have been decided by fewer than 10 points for either team: a 30-24 Utah victory in 2017 and a 37-2 win. 30 wins in Arizona in 2015.

It’s been a series that boomed for one team and was a bust for the other.

After controlling a six-game win streak – the most for either side in a 26-20-2 run with the Utes maintaining the lead – Utah now finds itself on the other side of the win column after a demoralizing 42-13. defeat in the desert last season. It’s a defeat that Utah’s players and coaches remember fondly.

“That wasn’t fun, I know that,” receiver Money Park said.

“Remember, it wasn’t fun,” defensive player Van Fillinger added.

As if season-ending injuries hadn’t piled up enough by the time the two teams played on Nov. 18, Utah was suddenly without starters Cole Bishop, Jonah Elliss — it turned out to be the end of the season — and Karene Reid, among many others .

Arizona needed about 10 full minutes of playing time to put the Utes aside as freshman quarterback Noah Fifita and his favorite target Tetairoa McMillan easily took down Utah in a 42-18 loss. Utah didn’t eclipse 100 yards of total offense until late in the second quarter.

“We have to accept that they outcoached us and outcoached us, and that’s that,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said after the game.

The loss hurt, but it was the final 41 seconds of play that perhaps hurt the most.

With a 35-18 lead and no real threat of a comeback, Arizona overlooked the victory formation and took a final shot.

Backup quarterback Jayden de Laura, who was brought into the game after Fifita had done enough damage, hit McMillan about 25 yards downfield on a go route. The talented receiver broke a tackle attempt with ease and had green grass in front of him for another score.

Then-head coach Jedd Fisch said he wanted De Laura to end his career with another goal, but it’s the kind of play that only adds fuel to the fire for next season.

Even though Whittingham wasn’t willing to criticize the decision and say Utah should have defended it better after the game, it was something the longtime head coach made a mental note of, knowing the two teams would have to play at Rice-Eccles Stadium to play. the next season.

It’s part of the competitive gene that has made Whittingham so successful over the years.

(For the record, Whittingham also played the game and his team scored late in the games to increase their lead.)

“That was one of the most depressing games. It’s like ‘Frick!'” offensive lineman Spencer Fano said. “So I feel like this gives us an extra push against these guys because we have to get them back. We have to get them back for what happened last year. I mean, it’s not hard feelings or anything. ” , but we just have to get them back. It’s just that competitive nature.

A year later, the outcome is expected to be different. Utah hopes that lopsided score will swing back in their favor against an Arizona team that doesn’t look much like the 2023 team.

“We all know that Rice-Eccles is a very difficult environment for opponents, especially at night,” Whittingham said Monday. “They got us pretty good last year, so we’re hoping to play a lot better this year than last year.”

Being the projected top team in the Big 12 this season with a 4-0 record, Utah was favored by two touchdowns the week before the betting lines dropped to the home team as the 7.5-point favorite, with freshman Isaac Wilson as the most likely quarterback to start Saturday.

To add to the drama of the game, Arizona will begin an extra week of preparation after the team’s first bye week and a blowout loss to Kansas State the week before.

“They’re coming off a bye, so they’ll be fresh off a loss prior to the bye, so they’re a bit of a wounded animal, which is unpredictable,” Whittingham said. “They need to have some confidence because they laughed at us last year, so they have some things going for them.”

But for Whittingham, Kansas State offered a simple blueprint for beating Arizona: Run the ball.

“K-State ran the ball very effectively,” he said. “It’s over 200 yards, and think Arizona only had 40, 50, 60 yards rushing, and that’s detrimental. If you can rush for a bunch and not give up much in the run game, you can win the game a little checking often, and that’s exactly what K-State did.

“K-State did a really good job of combining defensive coverages, applying pressure and dropping eight was effective. They got good pressure at times with a three-man rush, so they had a good plan going inside go and slow down the Fifita. But for me the big key was their ability to control the football through the running game.”

Arizona ranks 97th (out of 134 teams) in run defense.

But as much as run defense has been a bit of a struggle for the Wildcats this season, the game plan will always come down to stopping the dynamic duo of Fifita and McMillan.

“Well, we’ve got to figure something out, there’s no doubt about it,” Whittingham said. “Fifita is a great quarterback, had a great game against us last year. The McMillan kid is a great receiver and leads the conference in yards per game in the top two, three or four in receptions per game. So he’s a big target, big catch radius.

“We have to have an answer and hopefully, you know, like I said, play better than last year.”