Grading No. 5 Utah's 'GameDay' victory over No. 23 Cal


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SALT LAKE CITY — The streak remains alive as No. 5 Utah beat No. 23 Cal 30-24 in a down-to-the-wire finish Saturday. The win makes Utah the only remaining Pac-12 team to be undefeated.

While not perfect, Utah managed a way to fight through and come away with a much-needed victory. The following is a grading of Utah's win over Cal.

Offense: B+

The offense was clearly the area of the team that struggled the most. Travis Wilson struggled to get the passing game going and forced a couple passes into places he shouldn't have and got picked off twice. However, he navigating the offense well and ultimately moved the chains. Wilson ended the night throwing for 170 yards on 16-of-26 passing.

Although Wilson had some struggles opening up a stronger passing game, it was all about the Devontae Booker show. The senior running back had 222 rushing yards and two touchdowns, including a 40-yard breakaway touchdown, and added 45 receiving yards on four carries. Booker did fumble the ball once, which set-up Cal for a score, but it ultimately didn't hurt Utah on the night.

Is the grade generous? Sure, but Booker was the difference maker and simply took care of business and helped put points on the board.

Defense: A- ===========

The defense was the hero of the game, with Boobie Hobbs capping off the night with a game-winning pass breakup. Forcing six turnovers does not just happen. From the front seven to the secondary, Utah came ready to play against Goff and the team's passing effectiveness.

Utah did give up a lot of yards on the short passes, but, in part, that was seemingly the game plan. Allow Goff what he wants in the short game, but locked down on the intermediate and deep passes. The defense wasn't perfect, but had a stellar all-around night given that Cal quarterback Jared Goff threw for 340 yards.

Special Teams: A- =================

There wasn't anything particularly "special" about Utah's special teams unit this week. Hackett continued to punt the ball well, with his longest being a 65-yard punt. Phillips missed a 48-yard field goal, but righted the ship and nailed three field goals from distances of 44, 39 and 36-yards out.

Coaching: A- ============

Did Utah play conservative on offense, particularly in the second half? No, or at least that's what Kyle Whittingham said following the game. Booker was getting it done on the ground, so why go away from that?

All-in-all, Utah's coaching staff called a decent game without too many hiccups. Often the coaching element takes place earlier in the week, and it's obvious Utah's practices have helped allow Utah to be in the place it is at the top of the Pac-12 leaderboard.

Overall: A- ===========

Despite the struggles on offense at times, Utah managed to put together a great showing against an extremely talented quarterback Holding Cal to under 30 and then to force six turnovers is a great feat on its own.

Utah looks like a good team that can/is better. But a win is good enough for an A- grade considering everything.

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Josh Furlong

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