This upcoming weekend commemorates the start of the major college football season and all five of Utah’s universities will be in action. Thursday evening at 8:00 MDT, the Utah Utes will travel to Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Ore. to battle the PAC-10’s Oregon State Beavers. OSU is coming off a 10-4 season in 2006 in which they defeated the Missouri Tigers, 39-38 in the Sun Bowl and they return plenty of talent, including 2006 third team All-American receiver Sammie Stroughter and tailback Yvenson Bernard. The Utes welcome back QB Brian Johnson who before his redshirt season a year ago amassed 337 yards of total offense per game, good enough for fourth in the nation in that category as well as speedy junior Brent Casteel who has 12 career touchdowns. Additionally, former Snow College tailback Matt Asiata comes into Salt Lake City with great expectations. Projected final score, Utah 34, Oregon State 28

As for Brigham Young, the Cougars will host another PAC-10 squad, the Arizona Wildcats Saturday afternoon in Provo, Utah at 3:30 MDT. BYU is breaking in a new quarterback in Max Hall who has never taken a snap in a Division I college football game. Nevertheless Hall will be surrounded by established returning veterans such as Michael Reed, Fui Vakapuna and Bryce Mahuika. Arizona comes into LaVell Edwards Stadium as an intriguing team as the Wildcats feature one of the premier cornerbacks in all of college football in 2007 Playboy preseason All-American Antoine Cason who boasts 10 interceptions during his career in Tucson, Ariz. and talented defensive end Louis Holmes. With the advent of new offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes, who has experienced great success at Texas Tech, (known for its prolific offenses) the past seven years, expectations are high for an explosive offense in the Sonoran especially if junior QB Willie Tuitama can remain healthy. Projected final score, Brigham Young 38, Arizona 31.

The Utah State Aggies will commence their season Thursday evening at 6:05 MDT at Romney Stadium in Logan, Utah as they host the Nevada-Las Vegas Rebels. Quarterback Leon Jackson III returns for his senior season for the Aggies and needs just 463 yards of total offense to crack the top 10 in Utah State football history in that category. The Rebels return rising quarterback Rocky Hinds who in 2006 threw for 2,148 yards while completing 54 percent of his passes and feature kicker Sergio Aguayo who has been named as one of the 27 kickers on the Lou Groza Award official watch list. Projected final score, UNLV 24 , Utah State 17.

The Weber State Wildcats will also start their season Thursday evening as they travel to Boise, Idaho to take on the defending Fiesta Bowl champions, the Boise State Broncos at 7:05 MDT. The Wildcats feature Alabama transfer Jimmy Barnes at QB and skilled tailback Adrian Conway. As for the Broncos, they come into the game as the #23 team in the country and return prolific tailback Ian Johnson who ranked second in the country in rushing yards per game last season with nearly 143 yards per contest while junior offensive lineman Ryan Clady returns from a season in which he was named a second-team All-American by Sports Illustrated. Boise State head coach Chris Petersen also holds the unique distinction of being only the second coach since 1900 to win 13 games in his first season and is the only current Division I head coach who has an unbeaten record all-time as he is 13-0. Expect that to become 14-0. Projected final score, Boise State 55, Weber State 14.

The Southern Utah University Thunderbirds start their season Saturday at 1:05 MDT at Missoula, Mont. against the #2 team in Division I-AA, the Montana Grizzlies. The Thunderbirds should be able to run the ball effectively as they possess veteran tailback Jamar Lee and promising freshman Austin Minefee who starred at nearby Canyon View High School. As for the Grizzlies, Washington transfer Craig Chambers is a receiver with a nose for the end zone in the words of head coach Bobby Hauck. Chambers backed this up in 2006 as he had a team-high eight touchdowns for the Grizzlies last season. Projected final score, Montana 68, Southern Utah 14.