Utah vs. Texas Tech: A Big 12 Title Preview in the Making

It's only September, but Saturday's Big 12 clash between Utah and Texas Tech already carries the weight of a conference championship preview.

Both programs enter with unblemished records, productive quarterbacks, and plenty to prove. For Texas Tech, it's about justifying the hype — and the investment — of a roster built to win now. For Utah, it's a shot at reclaiming its place as a perennial national power.

FOX Sports' RJ Young and Michael Cohen break down the "Big Noon Saturday" matchup.

Is this game a Big 12 title preview — and if so, what does each team need to prove Saturday to show they're legit contenders, not just merely enjoying some early-season hype?

RJ Young: With the money spent on its roster this season, Texas Tech has made its goal clear: to win the program's first outright conference title since 1955. The Red Raiders also enter this season looking to win nine games or more for the first time since 2009, and if their early-season results are an indication of their competitiveness in the Big 12, they'll accomplish that feat. However, beating up on FCS Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kent State and Oregon State isn't exactly running through the NFL’s NFC North. Now, against an undefeated top-25 opponent, the Red Raiders have their first chance to throw down a marker that the rest of the nation must notice.

Utah is the only remaining team on Texas Tech’s schedule ranked in the AP Top 25. They better make it count.

Utah must look at Texas Tech and know the Red Raiders are trying to become what the Utes had been for the better part of a decade: a perennial top-25 team capable of winning conference championships. But after a losing season, Kyle Whittingham’s decision to bring in former New Mexico offensive coordinator Jason Beck and QB Devon Dampier is the one that faces the most scrutiny this weekend. So far, Dampier has completed 73% of his passes, averages more than 275 yards per game, and has been responsible for eight touchdowns, while the Utes have averaged 45.7 points per game.

A win against Texas Tech not only firmly puts Utah on the path to playing for a Big 12 title, but to earn a trip to the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history.

Michael Cohen: If the first edition of a 12-team College Football Playoff revealed anything about what it takes for schools beyond the traditional powers to gain access to the sport’s revamped postseason format, it was that high-level quarterback play — even for just one year — can completely transform a program’s outlook.

Consider what unheralded Michigan State transfer Sam Leavitt did for Arizona State by throwing for 2,885 yards, rushing for 443 more and scoring 29 total touchdowns. Consider what first-time starter Kevin Jennings did for SMU by throwing for 3,245 yards, rushing for 354 more and scoring 28 total touchdowns. Consider what Kurtis Rourke, the former MAC Offensive Player of the Year at Ohio, did in his one season with Indiana by throwing for 3,042 yards and 29 touchdowns with only five interceptions. High-level quarterback play makes anything possible in the modern era, when entire rosters can be transformed seemingly overnight.

Through the first few weeks of the season, it feels like the Big 12 has five teams with talented enough quarterbacks to contend for a spot in the league’s championship game: Utah (Devon Dampier), Texas Tech (Behren Morton), TCU (Josh Hoover), Iowa State (Rocco Becht) and Arizona State (Leavitt), even though the Sun Devils suffered a non-conference defeat to Mississippi State earlier this month. Two of those quarterbacks, Becht and Leavitt, have done enough in their respective careers to provide evidence that they can win difficult games against quality opponents, be that at home or on the road. The former is 4-1 against ranked teams over the last two seasons, while the latter guided Arizona State to the first CFP appearance in school history, taking Texas to double overtime in the quarterfinals.

What Texas Tech and Utah need to prove on Saturday is that their respective quarterbacks, Morton and Dampier, can handle the pressure of what should be an electric environment at Rice-Eccles Stadium before a nationally televised crowd.

Morton has completed better than 70% of his passes this season and is averaging more than 307 passing yards per game with only one interception — but he also has a career record of just 2-4 against ranked opponents with numbers that are considerably worse in high-leverage moments: 205.7 passing yards per game, seven touchdown passes, eight interceptions.

Dampier, meanwhile, is completing 73% of his passes and averaging 275.3 yards of total offense with eight touchdowns and no interceptions thus far — but he’s making the difficult jump from the Mountain West to the Big 12 and has never faced a defense with as much talent as he’ll see on Saturday.

Both quarterbacks need to show they can win the big game to keep their teams’ dreams of a Big 12 title afloat.

2. With Behren Morton and Devon Dampier both off to hot starts, which quarterback do you trust more to win a close game and why?

Michael Cohen: It’s far from a stretch to say that Morton, who had 24 career starts under his belt entering the season, has a more talented receiving corps around him than Dampier does. In addition to bringing back talented wideout Coy Eakin, who caught 49 passes for 652 yards and seven touchdowns last year and again leads the Red Raiders in all three categories, the coaching staff added instant-impact playmakers via the transfer portal in former Miami (Ohio) wideout Reggie Virgil (11 catches, 135 yards, 3 TDs this season) and former Louisiana tight end Terrance Carter Jr. (10 catches, 194 yards, 3 TDs this season). Tailback J’Koby Williams, whose role increased following a season-ending injury to USC transfer Quinten Joyner, has already exceeded his contributions in the passing game from all of last year with 11 catches for 150 yards and one score thus far.

The story at Utah, where not a single returning wideout made more than 10 receptions in 2024, remains a bit more tenuous as first-year offensive coordinator Jason Beck continues implementing his system.

But what Morton doesn’t have, and what Dampier possesses in spades, is the dual-threat ability that brings a different element to Utah’s offense. Dampier, who followed Beck from New Mexico to Utah, was one of only five FBS quarterbacks with 1,000 rushing yards last season when he carried 155 times for 1,166 yards and 19 scores en route to first-team All-Mountain West honors. The only quarterbacks who out-rushed him were Blake Horvath from Navy (1,246 yards), Tyler Huff from Jacksonville State (1,344 yards) and Bryson Daily from Army (1,659 yards).

Thus far, Dampier leads the Utes in both passing (628 yards, 7 TDs, 0 INTs) and rushing (33 carries, 198 yards, 1 TD) to further entrench himself as one of the most dangerous, and most exciting, players in the sport. In his two games against better competition so far this season — wins over UCLA and Wyoming — he’s carried 29 times for 173 yards and one score, shouldering a huge chunk of the offensive responsibility when necessary.

Dampier’s dynamism (6 yards per carry) could be sternly tested by a Texas Tech defense that, through three games against subpar competition, is only allowing 41.3 rushing yards per game, tied for second in the country behind BYU. But when push comes to shove in the biggest moments of the most important games, it’s never a bad idea to back the quarterback with additional tools at his disposal. Dampier can win this game in more ways than one.

RJ Young: Despite the presence of a roster reported to be worth more than $28 million — the second-highest paid roster in the sport — this team was always going to be as good as Morton is, and so far he's been phenomenal against flimsy competition. He is averaging better than 307 passing yards per game, has thrown the most touchdowns of any player in FBS this season with 11, and has thrown just one interception.

Dampier, though, is as important, as athletic and as productive as any quarterback in the sport this season. Had he played anywhere in 2024 other than New Mexico, he would've entered the season as a Heisman favorite and, with a win this weekend, he will exit Week 4 as one.

Although Dampier averages 275 total yards per game rushing and passing, it's his impact on a ground attack that averages 290 rushing yards per game that makes him especially dangerous. He consistently finds ways to create plays when protection breaks down or when a play needs to be extended, something Morton hasn't shown at the same level.

I'll give the advantage to Dampier because he's a craftsman in the pocket with more tools in his work belt than Morton.

RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him at @RJ_Young.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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