UW KEY PLAYERS QB Jake Browning: 16 TD, 5 INT, 153.9 rating RB Myles Gaskin: 166 carries, 1,038 yards, 13 TD DL Vita Vea: 30 tackles, 4 TFL CB Austin Joyner: 27 tackles, 6 TFL, 2 sacks

Utah KEY PLAYERS QB Tyler Huntley: 13 TD, 9 INT, 137.8 rating RB Zack Moss: 772 yards, 7 TD LB Sunia Tauteoli: 58 tackles, 10 TFL S Chase Hansen: 45 tackles, 1 INT

True, he has lost three of his top receiving targets to season-ending injuries — plus his all-Pac-12 left tackle, Trey Adams — but Browning acknowledged this week he needs to better about avoiding sacks, particularly on third down.

THROW IT UP, AGAIN: Stanford’s 6-foot-3 wide receiver, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, burned UW’s beat-up secondary with five catches for 130 yards last week.

INJURY UPDATE: UW redshirt freshman cornerback Byron Murphy, out since late September with a broken foot , will likely return Saturday night and play limited snaps against Utah, multiple team sources told The Times.