Instant Takeaways From Utah’s 23-10 loss to Arizona
Sep 29, 2024, 12:05 AM | Updated: 12:31 am
Photo by Joel Davidson
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Football has lost their first game of the season tonight by a score of 23-10 to the Arizona Wildcats.
The Utes gave away too many opportunities and were unable to disrupt Wildcats quarterback, Noah Fifita.
Final.
Utah: 10
Arizona: 23— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 29, 2024
Here are the instant takeaways from the loss that put Utah at 4-1, 1-1 for the 2024 season.
Losing at home
Protecting the home field is extremely important to the success of college football programs.
Allowing an opponent to come into your house and leave with the win is brutal, particularly a conference foe.
Utah had a chance to really solidify their standing atop the conference with a win tonight. That makes the loss sting all that much more.
Kyle Whittingham’s teams have shown over the years that an early conference loss can be overcome.
But Utah obviously needs Cam Rising back on the field to have any legitimate chance at doing that again.
Leaving points on the field
Arizona made it to the red zone only once in the first half, while Utah got there three times.
Yet, it was Arizona that went into halftime with a 10-3 advantage on the scoreboard.
Midway through the third quarter, Arizona had two possessions get them into scoring position. They ended in field goals but all of a sudden, the Wildcats were sitting on a 16-3 lead.
Utah left at least two field goals on the field in their three trips to the red zone. With a freshman quarterback at the helm in the sort of grind-it-out game this was, every point matters.
That gets to the bigger issue, which is simply Utah’s inability to score touchdowns in the red zone.
Utah had multiple cracks at it within the 5-yard line even but were unable to cross the goal line.
They finished the game 2-of-4 on their red zone trips and that has got to be addressed moving forward.
The backbreaking 3rd down conversion
The Utes had all the momentum. They had hauled in an interception to start the 4th quarter. The offense promptly marched down the field and scored a touchdown to make it 16-10.
The defense then made a couple of stops and had Arizona in a 3rd & 11 situation from their own 25-yard line. The crowd was rocking and it seemed Utah was going to take control.
Then Noah Fifita completed a 41-yard pass to Devin Hyatt which zapped all of the energy out of the stadium.
Had Utah gotten the stop there, perhaps the momentum continued to trend in their favor. They didn’t and the Wildcats promptly scored a couple of plays later on another big 35-yard toss.
Utah gave up too many big plays
To start, the Utes were surprisingly porous against the Wildcats rushing attack. Arizona were able to run for over 10 yards a pop through their first 10 carries.
The Wildcats ripped off big gains of 23, 36, and 19 yards in the first half. They also had chunk gains of 18 and 12 in the second half.
The Wildcats created big-play opportunities with their option-run game. They had a handful of runs with wide-open lanes and had things blocked up really well.
Utah eventually buckled down on the rushing attack. However, Arizona’s passing game came to life in the second half.
The Utes gave up completions of 21, 41, and 35 yards between the 3rd and 4th quarters. The Utah defense simply did not protect itself the way it needed to over the top. Credit to Fifita for being disciplined and making excellent throws when they needed them most.
What’s particularly tough is that Utah allowed receivers not named Tetairoa McMillan to beat them.
All in all, the Wildcats ended with 9 big plays that generated 228 yards.
Wilson battled but the learning curve got the best of him
It’s been about attacking the learning curve for Isaac Wilson. He’s managed to get Utah two wins on the road over the last two weeks. Unfortunately, tonight wasn’t easy and the learning curve got the best of him.
Wilson actually started the game with 9-of-11 completions for 137 yards. He was making good decisions and throws.
Then, things got tough with a stretch of eight straight incompletions, including a brutal interception to a defender right in front of him.
However, Wilson came back and led Utah on a scoring drive, that included him going 4-of-5 for 77 yards and the touchdown.
He wasn’t able to sustain another drive after that score though, which included a turnover on downs and an interception late.
Wilson finished the game with 20-of-40 completions for 280 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions.
This was not only a difficult reminder of the ups and downs of playing a true freshman quarterback but just how desperately Utah needs Cam Rising back on the field.
