Upon Further Review: Utah Football’s 38-21 Victory Over Utah State

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Football has improved to 3-0 in 2024 after a 38-21 victory over Utah State in the Battle of the Brothers. The Utes started slow but eventually got going to secure the big win.

Upon further review, a few things stood out.

Are Cam Rising and Isaac Wilson forming a potent duo for @Utah_Football after the freshman plays well in his first career start?#GoUteshttps://t.co/GJzTIMrdNn

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 15, 2024

The immediate takeaways from Saturday’s game were obvious. But, there are a few additional takeaways from the game.

Upon further review, Isaac Wilson was even more impressive after review

True freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson did a pretty solid job filling in for Cam Rising. He finished the game 20-of-33 for 239 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception.

The 1st quarter was slow with 4-of-9 completions for 35 yards. However, he and the offense clearly got it going in the next quarter. Optimism was high immediately following the game but upon further review, Wilson’s performance was even more impressive.

His arm talent gives him access to all levels of the passing attack. He finished the day with the following pass distribution:

• Behind LOS – 3/3, 3 yards
• Short (0-9) – 10/16, 104 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception
• Intermediate (10-19) – 5/9, 87 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 DPI
• Deep (20+) 2/5, 45 yards, 1 DPI

Wilson pump faked to his right, to open space up the middle for a touchdown throw to Money Parks. He attacked the honeyhole (soft spot along the sideline against cover-2) a couple of times with throws that require a high-level of velocity, touch, and accuracy. Don’t take for granted his ability to place an accurate jump ball throw.

Wilson worked through progressions, did a good job of resetting and bringing his feet with him as he did. He wasn’t deterred by who might have been in coverage either.

He didn’t seem rattled and typically looked in control. There was natural feel and understanding of the job. Wilson simply looked comfortable operating as the quarterback.

Upon further review, Micah Bernard is RB1 but encouraging signs abound with Mike Mitchell

Obviously, Micah Bernard looked impressive against the Aggies after he finished with 123 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

That’s consecutive games in which he’s looked the part of a RB1. Not only is there production, he’s provided knockout punch (or stiff arms) in each of the last two 4th quarters. He’s simply stepped up in big moments for Utah.

Coinciding with his emergence though are some really encouraging signs from Mike Mitchell. He finished this one with 75 yards on 14 carries, which included some impressive runs that showcased his all-around ability.

There was a big 18-yard gain on a play that highlighted his patience, decisiveness, and burst. The play prio to the Caleb Lohner touchdown throw, Mitchell took an inside handoff. He completely annihilated a linebacker at the line of scrimmage before he bounced outside for an 11 yard gain. That combination of power and athleticism is exactly why there’s been a lot of optimism around him this offseason.

He’s still only in the first games of his career. There is a lot to learn, a lot to experience, and a lot to improve on. However, these initial signs are really encouraging for Mitchell.

“Perhaps the most maddening aspect of the game was Bryson Barnes’ performance under pressure vs kept clean.”

Writes @BartleKSLsports

Take a look at the difference in numbers. #GoUtes #UtahFootball #Big12Footballhttps://t.co/uCkUGMuxff

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 15, 2024

Upon further review, DTs Junior Tafuna, Keanu Tanuvasa truly dominant at times

The Utes defense generated a lot of pressure on the Utah State quarterback. Van Fillinger and Logan Fano combined for 9 pressures between them and split a sack as well.

However, the play from the interior of the line feels quite different this season. And the Utah State game highlighted the difference.

Junior Tafuna and Keanu Tanuvasa combined for 8 pressures, 4 apiece, including Tanuvasa notching a sack. These two were consistently getting into the backfield and disrupting the backfield.

The two showed the ability to get off blocks or simply go through them. Tafuna overpower offensive guards on a couple of occassions. Tanuvasa shot the gaps and knifed into the backfield a few times as well.

Utah State avoided them in the run game as well. The Aggies attacked the edges in the run game with 20 carries outside the tackles compared to just 5 handoffs between them.

Need more consistency but these two appear to be true difference makers for the defensive line.

Upon further review, new faces showed promise on defense

There were a couple of new faces on the defensive side of the ball and they looked the part.

Rabbit Evans got the start at strong safety. He finished with 4 tackles (no misses), which included a stop for no gain, and allowed just 1 reception for 5 yards. Evans looks the part athletically and physically.

He looked a little rough around the edges in terms of mental of stuff, which is to be expected, but as he gets more time he will smooth out his game.

Johnathan Hall played a big role at linebacker in this one. He finished third on the squad with 5 tackles, including 1 for a loss, and 3 others for no gain. Athletically, Hall looked twitchy and physially, he played with good tenacity.

Still gaining better feel in coverage at the position but the athleticism, tenacity, and urgency he plays with is really exciting.

Upon further review, pass protection was solid, still things to improve

Utah’s athleticism on the edge with Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu has really benefitted the offensive line in pass protection. Lomu allowed one pressure, while Fano didn’t concede any.

Utah State was able to generate pressures, primarily when they sent extra defenders on the blitz. That caused some issues for the interior of the line. It’s the sort of thing that can be cleaned up after review and practice.

Plenty to improve on but the issues that used to plague the offensive line aren’t the same. The improved athleticism has really benefitted Utah in this area.

Upon further review, Landen King made key blocks

Noticeably absent from the pass game has been tight end Landen King. His playing time has been minimized through the first three games. Against Utah State, he got his first target of the season that was just a couple inches too far out in front for him to haul in.

Though he hasn’t been as involved in the passing game, King still made a very positive impact in this game. He made vital blocks on a couple of counter runs that provided Mitchell and Bernard the lane needed to break loose for chunk gains (18 yard gain for Mitchell, 17 yards for Bernard).

Utah is genuinely deep at tight end. King hasn’t been as involved early on this season but he made a positive impact against the Aggies.

Utah Football Schedule

Utah will hit the road for their first conference game against Oklahoma State. You can find Utah football’s conference schedule here.

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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