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Utah had some extra time to correct its mistakes from the season opener. Good thing, too, because coach Kyle Whittingham believes there was plenty to fix.
The 20th-ranked Utes edged Pittsburgh in overtime last Thursday despite some alarming totals: three turnovers, a blocked punt and 11 penalties. That gave Whittingham and his staff plenty to focus the Utes (1-0) on this week as they prepared to host UNLV on Saturday.
''You're not going to win a lot of games with three turnovers. We dodged a bullet there,'' Whittingham said. ''We didn't play smart. We had too many sloppy penalties.''
The Rebels (0-1) aren't expected to be much of a gauge for improvement, even if Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn can't play because of a sprained right thumb from the season opener.
Terrance Cain, who was 7-1 as a starter last year, would step in should the Utes decide not to push Wynn's recovery and play him against the Rebels, who have never won in Salt Lake City. Wynn has been listed as day to day this week and said he may not know until a few hours before kickoff whether he'll play.
Utah is favored by more than three touchdowns, but Whittingham still can point to what UNLV did a few years ago for its second win in the series. The Utes were still riding high after a win over UCLA in 2007 when they hit the road for Las Vegas and were shut out 27-0.
''All we have to do is remember a few years back when we didn't play so well and we have no chance of overlooking them,'' Whittingham said.
The Utes will need to get used to being heavy favorites. By getting past Pittsburgh, Utah is likely to be favored in its next seven games - all the way up until fourth-ranked TCU comes to Salt Lake City on Nov. 6.
Utah jumped from unranked in the preseason to No. 20 this week and could slowly make its way up the rankings to make the TCU game quite a showcase for the Mountain West Conference.
But that all depends on both teams getting through the next eight weeks without an upset.
''Coach Whitt does a good job keeping us away from the rankings and all that stuff,'' said wide receiver DeVonte Christopher, who had a career-high 155 receiving yards in the opener.
Christopher is from Las Vegas and is friends with some of the players he'll go up against Saturday. He said new coach Bobby Hauck has already made an impression on the Rebels since arriving from FCS perennial power Montana.
''Coach Hauck has done a good job of changing the mentality of that team. From what I've seen on film, they play real hard,'' Christopher said.
UNLV is recovering from a loss to No. 11 Wisconsin last week in Las Vegas.
Although the Badgers only led 17-14 at halftime, they blew the game open in the third quarter with three touchdowns and a field goal. Wisconsin ran for 278 yards while spoiling Hauck's debut at UNLV.
The Rebels' defense may still be catching its breath, too. Wisconsin had the ball for 38 minutes, 19 seconds - nearly twice as long as UNLV's 21:41.
''We played hard but we didn't play well. Certainly this week it gets no easier,'' Hauck said. ''It's a tall order. It's not like you go in there and say 'well they've got places where they're real susceptible for us to take advantage of them.' They're pretty dang good.''
Hauck did not name a starting quarterback this week. Mike Clausen opened the Wisconsin game for the Rebels, but former starter Omar Clayton was called from the bench in the third quarter. Neither was real effective as the Rebels gained just 217 yards of offense.
''I like our football team. I like their attitude. I think they have a lot of character and we're going to continue to develop that,'' Hauck said. ''I don't think there's any doubt right now in our team's mind that they can win some football games.''
