Utah (4-7, 1-7) at UCF (4-7, 2-6)

• Start: Friday, 6:00 p.m. MST
• Venue: FBC Mortgage Stadium
• TV: fox
• Live stream: foxsports.com/live
• Radio: ESPN 700 AM/92.1 FM
• Series: First meeting
• Weather: Partly cloudy with temperatures around 60°C at kickoff, dropping to 50°C by the end of the game

The trends

For Utah: The Utes will look to break a seven-game losing streak that began Sept. 28 with a 23-10 home loss to Arizona. Utah’s last loss came last week against Iowa State after the Cyclones drove 75 yards in 4:20 for the go-ahead touchdown. Fifth-year quarterback Luke Bottari, who came off the bench after Isaac Wilson was injured, drove Utah to the Iowa State 35-yard line, but Cole Becker missed the 54-yard field goal.

For UCF: The Knights have lost seven of their last eight games, with the only win coming against Arizona 56-12 on November 2nd. Since then, UCF has lost at Arizona State and West Virginia, ensuring a losing record.

What you should pay attention to

Utah’s starter for the final game of the season is once again Luke Bottari. Cam Rising, Isaac Wilson, Brandon Rose and Sam Huard are all out for the season, so the Utes are turning to their fifth-string quarterback.

Last year, Bottari, who also played backup quarterback, scored two rushing touchdowns in Utah’s 23-17 win over Colorado. In that win, Bottari passed the ball just 10 times, with running back Jaylon Glover leading the way with 107 rushing yards while Sione Vaki added 68 yards.

Will we see a similar game plan against UCF – limited pass attempts from Bottari and an emphasis on ball play?

The Knights have one of the better run defenses in the Big 12, allowing just 123.5 rushing yards, although BYU and West Virginia were recently able to surpass 200 yards on the ground against the Knights. Utah will look to establish its ground game early, something the team has failed to do in the last two contests. Bottari’s ability to run the ball could prove useful — he rushed for 47 yards against Iowa State — but he probably won’t catch the Knights as unprepared as the Cyclones.

Running back Micah Bernard, who is 78 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards this season, will need to have a strong performance in his final game as a Ute for Utah to have a chance in this game. Bottari can throw when called upon, but success on offense will likely depend on whether Bernard and the Utes can get the ball moving on the ground.

Key players

RJ Harvey, UCF RB: The best running back in the country is clearly Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who has run for 2,062 yards this year, but UCF’s RJ Harvey isn’t far behind with 1,458 yards and 21 touchdowns this season.

He’s the main reason UCF’s offense racks up the most yards in the Big 12 – 454 yards per game – despite using three quarterbacks this season. The Knights ultimately chose Dylan Rizk, who they had turned to in the BYU loss, and he started the last three games for UCF, throwing for 797 yards, five touchdowns and one interception with 68% accuracy .

Make no mistake: For the 10-point underdog Utes to have a chance to end their seven-game losing streak, they’ll have to put pressure on Harvey, which is no easy task, especially for a run defense that’s already been good, but not elite, all season long.

Quotable

“This week it will be a challenge for our defense to face this (offense), especially this rushing attack.” – Utah coach Kyle Whittingham

“We’re playing Utah, a team that’s in the same boat as us, with the same record. When you look at them and time of possession, they are one of the best teams in college football when it comes to time of possession. The third-down defense is, in my opinion, the second in the country. They play really good defense, they keep the football.” – UCF coach Gus Malzahn

Next

• Utah: Season over
• UCF: Season over

Utah Schedule/Results

• August 29: Utah 49, Southern Utah 0.
• September 7: Utah 23, Baylor 12.
• September 14: Utah 38, Utah State 21.
• September 21: Utah 22, Oklahoma State 19.
• September 28: Arizona 23, Utah 10.
• Oct. 5: Bye.
• Oct. 11: Arizona State 27, Utah 19.
• Oct. 19: TCU 13, Utah 7.
• Oct. 26: Houston 17, Utah 14.
• November 2nd: Bye.
• November 9: BYU 22, Utah 21.
• November 16: Colorado 49, Utah 24.
• November 23: Iowa State 31, Utah 28.
• Nov. 29: at UCF (6 p.m., Fox).

All times mountain time zone.