How unbeaten Utah can follow BYU's lead with 'GameDay' win over Houston

ESPN's "College GameDay" will return to Utah on Oct. 24 to set up an important Big 12 battle between the unbeaten (6-0), 10th-ranked Utes and the 14th-ranked, 6-1 Houston Cougars.

The Utes, who own the nation's longest winning streak at 12, will look to follow archival BYU's lead after the Cougars took center stage on ESPN's pregame show before upsetting Notre Dame.

BYU and Utah's victories have the two teams on course for an epic top-10 battle in Salt Lake City on Nov. 7.

But first, the Utes must clean up defensively after their shocking second-half mess against Colorado. Leading 13-0 at the half against the Buffaloes in Boulder, the Utes gave listless Colorado life. Utah needed to bat down a Hail Mary on the final play to escape with the win.

The Utes were damn lucky they didn't join the list of Week 7 upset victims.

Moving forward, here's what Utah needs to do to beat Houston, and the answers are easy.

What Utah can do to defeat Houston

One: Don't look ahead to No. 2 BYU, however tempting it might be, because that game will be a doozy. Take it one game at a time, fellas. Remember, the Utes still have to play 4-2 Cincinnati on the road Halloween night.

Spooky upset alert for Utah, there.

Two: Avoid a shootout and limit big plays. Houston's high-powered offense averages 39.3 points per game, and you don't want to be in a fourth-quarter dogfight with them. The Cougars took down No. 18 Oklahoma State, 35-32, on Saturday, and Houston has much better offensive weapons than Colorado.

Which brings us to number three: Utah can't forget to play both halves. What was most puzzling about its unnecessarily narrow win was allowing Colorado to score 17 straight second-half points. The Buffs actually led 17-13 late in the third quarter before Utah woke up and rallied. 

But staying focused won't be a problem against Houston. The rowdy crowd at Rice-Eccles Stadium, where Utah has won eight straight games, will ensure that.