CORVALLIS — It is tough to prepare for any of the starting quarterbacks in the Pac-12 Conference this season.

Try preparing for two for the same game.

That is the task at hand for Oregon State as it gets ready to take on Utah on Thursday night. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said he will not announce publicly who will get the start.

“We’re going through all the tapes, making sure we get the proper evaluations, and then we’ll have a starter that we’ll go with named by (Wednesday or Thursday),” Whittingham said this week. “Now, we won’t announce that publicly but we’ll know in house … which direction we’re going to go.”

Travis Wilson has started all five games this season, but he watched most of last Saturday’s game at UCLA from the sidelines as Oklahoma transfer Kendal Thompson came on and led the Utes to a 30-28 win over the then-No. 8 Bruins.

“Both are tremendous quarterbacks, and we’re just going to prepare like both are going to play,” Oregon State linebacker Michael Doctor said.

The Beavers know all about Wilson from last year’s game at Salt Lake City, where he rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns in addition to completing 19 of 33 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns in a wild 51-48 overtime game won by the Beavers.

Last week, Thompson completed 10 of 13 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown in relief of Wilson, who was 2-for-5 passing for 5 yards in a couple of series against the Bruins.

Thompson also did damage with his feet as he rushed for 83 yards.

“I started looking at them right away once we got back and saw part of the highlights of the Utah-UCLA game,” Doctor said. “Man, both quarterbacks are nice. We’re going to have to come with our ‘A’ game.

“They utilize the quarterback in space a lot so we’re going to have to make open-field tackles and be great run-stoppers.”

While the Beavers do not know who will get the start, senior defensive end Dylan Wynn said the biggest difference is that Wilson is right-handed and Thompson left-handed, although that should not change much in preparation.

“Besides that, they’re both probably some of the top quarterbacks in our league and it’s going to be a challenge either way,” Wynn said.

“They’re both incredibly fast and they’re playmakers. That’s definitely a key to the game is we have to shut them down.”