Upon Further Review: Utah Football’s 23-12 Victory Over Baylor
Sep 8, 2024, 4:01 PM | Updated: Sep 10, 2024, 3:32 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Football has improved to 2-0 in 2024 after a 23-12 victory over Dave Aranda and Baylor Bears.
It was a tale of two completely different halves of football after Cam Rising’s injury, which revealed a lot about this team. Utah needed a strong defensive effort to finish this one off, which served as a stark contrast to how the game started.
Utes have fallen a spot in the newest AP Top 25 Poll but still atop the Big 12 Conference. #GoUtes
https://t.co/tDc8qNgMEU— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 8, 2024
The immediate takeaways from last night’s game were obvious. Upon further review, there are a lot of positives to take away from the game, particularly the toughness of this squad. There are concerns though and things Utah has to clean up moving forward.
Upon further review, encouraged by run game blocking
There’s been plenty of talk about needing more of the running game through the first two games. The general belief whenever that sentiment is shared is that Utah needs to be better up front, whether it be executing blocks better, generating more push, or whatever else.
After rewatching the Baylor game, the offensive line could’ve been more consistent against Baylor, but more often than not, the O-line generated a lot of movement up front.
Coach Whittingham on Cam Rising’s status. pic.twitter.com/vx1BSxIaMh
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 7, 2024
Statistically, the offensive line created an average of 3.0 line yards- the amount of yardage gained before contact. That’s an improvement from the 2.54 line yards they created in week one. In total, Utah gained 185 yards and only 82 was after contact. That’s
Jaren Kump, Michael Mokofisi, and Tanoa Togiai were often washing linemen out of the play or creating 2-3 yards of vertical push. Caleb Lomu & Spencer Fano did a good job of collapsing the edge- while Lomu was particularly impressive as a puller.
Upon further review, too many missed opportunities in the passing game
After 328 passing yards in week one, Utah produced an underwhelming 122 yards through the air against Baylor. The obvious context to consider is Rising’s injury, regardless, production has to improve.
Rising took a deep shot (55-yard throw) early in the game to receiver Dorian Singer that missed by just inches.
A little later, Rising made a throw to Brant Kuithe on the sideline that was wide of the mark. Rising also had a ton of green grass in front of him with no one near him on the play.
Tight end Carsen Ryan nearly reeled in his first reception as a Ute on a deep crosser but Rising’s pass was low and behind him.
Money Parks found himself open on two different plays where Isaac Wilson went elsewhere with the ball. One was a route combo with Singer, that left Parks open breaking towards the sideline. The other was a broken coverage that has to be identified by the young quarterback.
Despite Cam Rising's injury, Utah holds onto the lead and knock off Baylor, 23-12. #GoUtes https://t.co/5hjtaa57UO
— Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) September 7, 2024
Utah finished the game with only three chunk plays through the air and missed at least five opportunities to generate significant yardage plays in the passing game.
Rising, Wilson, & Ludwig have to start converting these plays. Utah needs the passing game to maximize their ability to win at a high level this season.
The true freshman had to take the reigns before the half. It’s tough for any quarterback backup to come in and perform at a high level in this sort of situation. He missed reads and made a couple of poor throws, but he did enough when Utah needed it most.
Utah State hasn’t been ruled out for Rusing but if Wilson is going to be the guy next Saturday, he will benefit from the increased prep in practice.
Upon further review, it was a coming-out party for Safety Pride
Saturday felt like a significant performance for Utah’s new group of safeties. Collectively, the group just seemed settled in.
Tao Johnson had the play of the game but he was far more impressive attacking the line of scrimmage. He finished with 7 tackles, two of which were for loss, and also had a pass breakup. It was less about the production and more about how he didn’t hesitate, he made his reads and then raced past everyone to make the tackle on ball carriers.
Nate Ritchie played his best game since returning from his church mission prior to last season. He led the team with 9 tackles, 4 of which were stops of no gain. He attacked the line of scrimmage, took on blocks, and even blew up a couple. He played as instinctually and as physically as he ever has in a Utah uniform.
Alaka’i Gilman’s day was cut short due to a targeting penalty but he made an impact early on in the game.
There was a lot of optimism around the safety room coming into the season. Saturday’s performance was a good checkpoint in validating that optimism.
Upon further review, defensive tackles held it down
Utah’s defensive tackles played a big role in the success they had defending Baylor. Utah was without two of their top defensive tackles for the day, which put the onus squarely on Junior Tafuna & Simote Pepa to play the majority of the game.
Those two were great for almost the entire game, particularly against the run. They held their ground against the push of the Baylor O-line and limited the Bears to just 2.04 line yards in the run game.
Not only were they plugging the interior, they were disruptive. Tafuna and Pepa often twisted and exchanged gaps at the snap, which was a really effective way to defend Baylor’s option attack. The two combined for 8 tackles, 4 of which were for stops of no gain.
Also, Dallas Vakalahi has played a minimal role through two games but he’s been encouragingly productive. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound true freshman has played 34 snaps and has 1 sack and 4 total pressures.
Utah Football Schedule
Utah will hit the road for their first game away from Rice-Eccles Stadium this weekend against Utah State. You can find Utah football’s conference schedule here.
