Photo by Benjamin Powell/The Dominion Post WVU offensive lineman Malik Agbo celebrates a touchdown against Pitt.

MORGANTOWN — Utah had a lot of hype the previous couple of weeks, even though I wasn’t one of those people, setting up for a big matchup with Texas Tech. A Top 25 matchup in Salt Lake and probably the biggest Big 12 matchup so far this season.

It wasn’t close. Texas Tech, with all its money, went into Utah and ran the Utes out of their own stadium, 34-10. Utah looked really bad. It was sloppy from both teams, but Utah’s offense couldn’t get anything going. Devon Dampier, who most, like myself, thought was the best quarterback in the Big 12, was flawed. He didn’t play well. Utah couldn’t run the ball either.

Offensive struggles, quarterback issues, and can’t run the ball well, who does that sound like? West Virginia had the same problems against Kansas. Nicco Marchiol couldn’t get anything going, and the run game was nonexistent.

Both teams are coming off their worst week offensively, and altogether, looking for a bounce-back.

For West Virginia, it’s more of an uphill battle. Kansas is a solid team, but not at the level of Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll this week, and Kansas didn’t receive a vote. WVU’s loss is worse.

And, the Mountaineers’ offense has looked worse through the first four weeks. At least Utah’s offense had looked competent against lesser opponents and put together complete games. WVU’s offense is streaky.

On some drives, the offense clicks on all cylinders and marches down the field, like the first Robert Morris drive, or the Jaylen Henderson touchdown drive against Kansas. There are flashes, but it’s never been consistent. Even in the wins, WVU’s offense is inconsistent. Rich Rodriguez’s attack hasn’t done it over four quarters.

They can’t afford to be streaky against Utah. The Utes’ offense didn’t look great against Texas Tech, but Utah has blown out opponents and not looked incompetent.

Dampier had one bad game, but he’s still a good quarterback who can make plays. He’s another dual-threat quarterback, making it the fourth straight week of dual-threats. Zac Alley’s defense has been hit or miss when covering a running QB. It didn’t stop Ohio’s Parker Navarro and Kansas’ Jalon Daniels last week, but it did a pretty good job holding Eli Holstein at bay. It’ll be another big challenge this week.

Utah doesn’t have as many offensive weapons as Kansas did, so that’s a plus. That’s not really their forte. It’s more run you out of the building with Dampier on the ground.

Alley’s defense has mostly done its job, though. It’s the offense that’s been an issue. You can’t win a game without scoring points, and WVU would’ve had just three if Henderson didn’t score the late touchdown. You also can’t win a game without a starting quarterback, and that’s been a consistent question for every week except after a win. Rodriguez said he’d use multiple quarterbacks, and he has, for every game.

If it’s Henderson or Marchiol, who is now banged up, WVU’s offense has to rally around them to bounce back against Utah. If they don’t, BYU is next week, which has another solid offense and is ranked in the Top 25. That’d be three straight losses heading into the bye. Not something you want.

Utah’s the better team and has an offense that can score consistently. I thought WVU would win the first three games, and then lose the next three leading up to the bye, and I think that’ll happen again. However, WVU’s played better at home, so I think it could be close.

— Prediction: Utah 28, West Virginia 24