Offensive depth key to Utah's success

SALT LAKE CITY — In its fourth season in the Pac-12, the University of Utah football program has the depth and skill players necessary offensively to compete with much of the conference.

Utah's struggles to stay healthy in the last few seasons on offense have been well-documented with Jordan Wynn, Travis Wilson, Jake Murphy and Kenneth Scott to name a few. However, two weeks into the 2014 season, Utah's offense is healthy and firing on all cylinders in a rare sight for a program that’s been hoping for a consistent win streak in a difficult conference.

In Saturday's performance against Fresno State, Utah managed 526 total yards of offense — nearly equal in the run (258 yards) and pass (268 yards) game. The offense struck quickly and frequently, giving Utah a commanding 59-27 victory over last year’s Mountain West Conference champion Bulldogs.

In its nine scoring drives, all but two drives were under two minutes for Utah. One of those drives (9:38) came late in the game when Utah was looking to run out the clock. The other was a three-minute drive that ended in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Wilson to Scott on a fade route to the northwest corner of the end zone.

It would appear as though the team’s desire to move the ball quickly in an up-tempo offense is working effectively and with relative ease. Both opponents have clearly been inferior, but Utah has looked good moving the ball — an approach that was occasionally seen last season, but without the accuracy and effectiveness.

Wilson, too, looks more composed under center and is making smarter decisions with the football. In several instances against Fresno State, Wilson took his time, read the defense, went through his progressions and made the appropriate play. Last season, Wilson often panicked in the pocket and tried to force the pass, and that ultimately ended up in a significant amount of interceptions on the season.

Despite the offensive success, Wilson has yet to play a complete game. He played slightly more than half the game and went 11-of-20 for 181 yards, but threw five touchdown passes. Wilson became the first quarterback to throw five touchdown passes in a single game since Brian Johnson in 2008 against San Diego State.

Although Wilson’s completion percentage was not as high as he or Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham would have prefered, he was effective in what he did complete and made up for it with accurate touchdown strikes.

“I definitely would have liked to have more completions, but we made some big plays off of those completions,” Wilson said after the game. “I’m just happy we connected a lot in the end zone in the passing game.”

“The completion percentage needs to be a little higher, and it was, but we hit a stretch where we couldn’t complete a ball for a few series',” Whittingham said. “But otherwise we were up and down the field. We really could have scored more points had we been intent on doing that.”

Utah’s depth at the quarterback position is more than encouraging for the team’s future successes. Junior quarterback Kendal Thompson came into the game in the third quarter and changed the dynamic of play with a run-heavy offense, forcing Fresno State to adjust to a new style of play. Thompson lead the team in rushing with 71 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.

“I want to give (Thompson) some praise,” Whittingham said. “He came in and ran the offense. Now it’s a different element, a different dimension when he’s in there. The Q-run game becomes very, very viable for us and very difficult to stop for the opponent. He played very well. He took advantage of the opportunity.”

But Thompson was equally effective in the passing game, going 4-of-7 for 87 yards and a touchdown. Wilson ran for 37 yards on 11 carries.

Given Utah’s recent history with injuries at the quarterback position, should Wilson sustain any type of injury this year, the Utes shouldn’t have as much of a drop off as in years past. Although different in styles of play, Thompson is effective with the ball and can move the offense just as quickly, particularly when he runs the ball.

Add to that the plethora of skilled receivers and running backs on the Utah offense and the team is finally looking like a legit Pac-12 opponent with some depth. Team stars Dres Anderson and Scott are the household names, and certainly don’t disappoint, but it’s the guys behind them that are equally as important and valuable to the program.

Anderson and Scott both finished the game with two touchdowns, but Wilson and Thompson made some positive gains with Andre Lewis, Westlee Tonga, Siale Fakailoatonga, Tim Patrick and Delshawn McClellon. Add to that a healthy Kaelin Clay and Utah has several talented receivers that can make opposing defenses worry.

Asked about having more targets on the field on offense, particularly with Scott lining up next to him, Anderson said: “It’s way easier. I always see a safety over the top and I’m happy. I get man coverage.”

No longer is Anderson the single playmaker on the offense. No longer can opposing defenses target Anderson and keep him from catching the ball. Now, defenses are forced to pick their battles, hoping one of the other skilled receivers can’t make a play. And from what has been seen in two weeks, those other receivers can make that play.

"We expect to do those things," Scott said. "We have high standards for ourselves this year. We believe that we can accomplish those things. It comes as no surprise for us."

Whether that offense will continue to operate with high efficiency and accuracy is yet to be determined. Utah will have to wait another week before traveling to the Big House to take on Michigan in a Pac-12-Big Ten battle. A strong performance over Michigan could be a stronger indication of good things to come for Utah’s offense prior to Pac-12 play.

But the true test will come when Utah starts out Pac-12 play at home against Washington State. Utah is 10-1 in non-conference games since joining the Pac-12, but have only won nine games in three seasons.

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