For the third straight season, Utah won
its Pac-12 opener after claiming a 30-24 victory over Arizona on
Friday night. Utah followed a standard blueprint for the program to get there.
Defense and special teams ruled the day.
The Utes forced five turnovers –
highlighted by a 14 yard interception return by Javelin Guidry. Matt
Gay shined in the kicking game again, making all three of his
field goal attempts to move to 14-of-14 on the season. Utah also
blocked a pair of field goal attempts from Josh Pollack.
Here are three observations from Utah's
fourth victory of the season:
1. Losing Tyler Huntley could spell
disaster for the offense
Seeing Utah's offense operate without
Tyler Huntley ended up being an eye opener. It showed that Huntley
winning the starting quarterback job in fall camp was no fluke.
Huntley went out with an apparent
shoulder injury following a 7-yard sack midway through Utah's third
scoring drive. Up to that point, Arizona had no answer for the
sophomore. He totaled 98 yards and a touchdown on 8-of-9 passing
through 1 ½ quarters. When the offensive line gave Huntley time, his
mobility and decision making made Utah's offense vibrant and dynamic.
Once Troy Williams took over, the
offense struggled to move the chains. Williams was decidedly less
accurate with through the air, totaling 131 yards while completing
9-of-18 passes. The senior can hit the deep ball, but he lacks
patience with reading defenses and goes for the lower percentage home
run balls more often than he should.
Utah needs good news on Huntley's
injury. A prolonged absence for the sophomore could force the Utes to
grind out more Pac-12 wins through defense and special teams play.
2. The future is bright in the
secondary
Teams are going to have a tough time
beating Utah through the air this season. The Utes have a ton of
young playmakers in the secondary who are only going to get better as
the season progresses.
Outside of a few third down
conversions, Brandon Dawkins could not get on track in the passing
game. Dawkins totaled 248 yards and a touchdown on 24-of-42 passing.
He also tossed three interceptions.
Guidry, Chase Hansen and Corrion
Ballard each snared an interception from Dawkins. Casey Hughes turned
in perhaps the best performance of the group. Hughes forced a pair of
fumbles and also tipped the pass that Hansen ultimately brought down.
Only two seniors, Boobie Hobbs and
Kenric Young, are in the two-deep at cornerback, safety and
nickelback in Utah's 4-2-5 defense. Freshman like Jaylon Johnson and
Guidry and sophomore Julian Blackmon play major roles in the
secondary rotation.
The unit possesses tons of speed and is
filled with ball hawks. It sets up for a strong 2017 for the pass
defense and an even more promising 2018 season.
3. Utah needs to cut down on
penalties fast
A disturbing trend has emerged for
Utah. Through four games, the Utes are one of the nation's most
penalized teams. Utah ranks near or at the bottom among FBS teams in
total penalties (37), penalty yards (365) and penalties per game
(9.3).
Against Arizona, the Utes totaled nine
penalties for 83 yards. Many of them proved costly on the scoreboard.
Utah got called for a false start after driving to the Arizona 3
early in the second quarter, forcing the Utes to settle for a field
goal on their third scoring drive. A targeting penalty on Marquise
Blair moved the Wildcats into the red zone and helped set up their second
touchdown of the game in the third quarter.
Utah can't afford to be so sloppy and
aggressive against better Pac-12 teams. It could lead to an
unexpected loss.
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