Three Thoughts on Utah's win over Arizona

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.

Three Thoughts on Utah's win over BYU

Nobody can deny Utah has gained the upper hand over BYU in the Holy War.

The Utes notched a 19-13 win over the Cougars on Saturday night to win their seventh straight game in the rivalry series. Utah last won seven straight over BYU when it ran off seven consecutive wins over BYU from 1951 to 1957. That was part of a 12-game unbeaten stretch extending back to 1946 which saw the Utes post an 11-0-1 record.

Even though final score indicates a close hard-fought game, Utah never trailed and led by as many as 16 points early in the third quarter. BYU struggled to move the ball with any consistency, punting on six drives and coughing up turnovers on three others. The Utes possessed a decided advantage in speed, athleticism and depth in every phase of the game and never let the Cougars generate a sustained rhythm.

What transpired reveals quite a bit about the paths both teams seem poised to travel as the season progresses. Here are three observations from Utah's 19-13 win over BYU:

1. Utah has an elite quarterback

There's no question Tyler Huntley is a star in the making. Huntley's skills are a perfect match for the offensive schemes of Utah Offensive Coordinator Troy Taylor. He is an elusive runner, an accurate passer and an effective decision maker.

Huntley gave a good BYU defense fits for four quarters. He threw for 300 yards on 27-of-36 passing, becoming the first Utah quarterback with a 300-yard game since Travis Wilson passed for 311 yards in a 38-34 win over Colorado in 2014. He also rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. His mobility and accuracy kept the Cougars scrambling to keep up with him.

Darren Carrington has become the sophomore's favorite target. Carrington had ninth career 100-yard receiving game – and second straight at Utah – after totaling 129 yards on seven catches. Through two games with the Utes, the Oregon transfer has caught a total of 17 passes for 256 yards.

2. BYU needs to make major changes on offense

Unless BYU does something different on offense soon, the Cougars will face an uphill climb just to post a winning record this season. Elite defenses at LSU and Utah have exposed some serious deficiencies in what the Cougars are doing on offense.

It starts with ineffective quarterback play. Tanner Mangum has struggled with accuracy and decision making in all three of BYU's games up to this point. Mangum threw for 170 yards and a touchdown on 21-of-39 passing while also tossing three interceptions. Utah scored 10 points off of Mangum's interceptions, making them a major deciding factor in another BYU's loss.

The time has come for BYU to scrap the pro-style West Coast offense that Cougars offensive coordinator Ty Detmer installed last season and introduce some up-tempo spread concepts. Mangum has a tendency to panic and get happy feet in the pocket, leading to poor timing and accuracy on his throws. Putting him in shotgun and going no-huddle will give him a chance to react instead of overthink and bring him back to the promising form he showed as a freshman.

BYU also needs to attack the middle of the field more often. The Cougars best offensive weapons in the passing game are tight end Matt Bushman and slot receiver Aleva Hifo. Getting the ball to Bushman and Hifo consistently will draw the defense to the middle and open things up for speedier receivers like Talon Shumway, Micah Simon and Jonah Trinnaman who can snag deeper passes.

3. Utah needs to clean up the penalties

Playing disciplined football has been a serious problem for Utah through the first two games of the season. The Utes are killing their own drives and giving opponents second life on offense with tons of untimely penalties.

Against BYU, Utah totaled 11 penalties for 97 yards. In the Utes' season opening 37-16 win over North Dakota, they accumulated 11 penalties for 135 yards. Utah has totaled 22 penalties for 232 yards. Utah ranks 128^th in the FBS in total penalties and 127^th in penalty yardage.

This trend can't continue against Pac-12 opponents. Utah is talented enough on both sides of the ball to compete with virtually any team. A lack of discipline and a horde of mental errors can counteract that talent, however, and leave the Utes taking home an unexpected loss in a game they should win.