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This week's college football picks column is a tribute to David Schulthess, a BYU's longtime sports information director.
A funeral service for Schulthess, who died this week at age 90, will be held Saturday morning in Orem, before the Cougars kick off at Middle Tennessee State. A member of the BYU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Utah Sports Hall of Fame, Schulthess worked briefly for The Salt Lake Tribune and then publicized BYU sports for more than 40 years. He's remembered as a patient, gracious man who helped make the college sports information business an admirable profession in this state.
BYU at Middle Tennessee State, 1:30 p.m. MDT
Schulthess always took a positive view of his job. So what's the nicest thing I could say about BYU's October? It is over.
The Cougars are reeling with four straight losses, and it will take some work to avoid another defeat. Middle Tennessee provided some resistance in Provo last season, and that's when the Cougars were reasonably good. BYU will have to find some early success to restore some confidence. If that happens, the Cougars will win. If not, as a result of open dates, they'll go from Sept. 20 to at least Nov. 15 between victories.
BYU 31, Middle Tennessee State 24.
Utah at Arizona State, 9 p.m. MDT
This is a perplexing matchup. My strongest conclusion is the game will go down to the last minute, like each of Utah's previous four conference games. The Utes have lost by one point and won by two, six (overtime) and three points. Nothing suggests this game will turn into a comfortable win for either team.
Utah will miss receiver Dres Anderson, but should be able to run successfully with Devontae Booker against ASU's interior defense. The Sun Devils have improved defensively, but that may reflect more on the offenses on Stanford and Washington. On the other side, the Utes contained ASU's offense very well last season, until the fourth quarter.
Utah was overwhelmed by ASU's speed in Tempe in 2012; the Sun Devils had trouble with Utah's physical nature last November. Which element will prevail this time? Stay up late to find out, then change your clocks.
Picking a home team to win a close game is almost illogical in the Pac-12 this season, but I did so with Utah last week — and it happened. The Utes are due to have a dramatic finish go against them. Arizona State 24, Utah 23.
Utah State at Hawaii, 9 p.m. MDT
It must say something about the power of television that a game in Hawaii kicks off at the same time as one on the mainland. In any case, USU is back where its series of quarterback injuries began in 2011, when Chuckie Keeton was hurt in the first half and Adam Kennedy rescued a wild victory.
This year, the Aggies would love to have their No. 2 quarterback on the field. They're down to No. 4, which is unbelievable, considering Keeton was declared out for the season on Oct. 1. By Oct. 25, USU also had lost Darell Garretson and Craig Harrison.
So freshman Kent Myers gets his first start. The Aggies still lack a consistent running game, but managed to hit enough big plays to score 34 points vs UNLV last week.
Hawaii defensive coordinator Kevin Clune, a former USU assistant, will do all kinds of Aggie-style blitzing to confuse Myers. The QB will have to get rid of the ball quickly and USU's receivers will have to make some big plays to exploit that approach. If not, it could be a rough night.
USU's defense will keep the Aggies in the game, but Hawaii has improved enough to beat a visiting team with a fourth-string quarterback.
Hawaii 24, Utah State 21.
Twitter: @tribkurt