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SALT LAKE CITY — From start to finish, Utah struggled to gain momentum in its 42-10 loss to No. 15 Arizona in the final game of the season at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah needed a win to remain in contention for the South division title, but Arizona “outcoached and outplayed” Utah, according to head coach Kyle Whittingham.
The following is a grading of Utah’s performance in Saturday’s loss against the Wildcats.
Utah has struggled to produce offensively all season, and Saturday’s play against Arizona was just the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. Utah started the game with four straight three-and-outs and failed to get more than 17 yards of total offense in the first quarter.
Quarterback Travis Wilson had moments where he got the offense moving, including an 11-yard touchdown pass to Westlee Tonga in the second quarter and a 35-yard pass to Tonga at the end of the third quarter. But other than a few plays all game, Wilson struggled to move the offense.
Wilson ended the game going 16-of-29 for 143 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Backup quarterback Conner Manning, in his first opportunity at the college level, finished going 2-of-6 for 28 yards and one interception.
Utah’s offense finished with 384 yards of total offense, but it was an empty effort. The only bright spot on the offense came from running back Devontae Booker, who rushed for 142 yards on 23 carries. But even Booker’s talent at running the ball wasn’t enough to get the offense moving.
From play-calling to overall play from the quarterback position, Utah simply couldn’t get it done. At this point in the season, little is likely to change for the offense that has struggled all season.
All season long Utah has been able to point to its defense as the reason they've stayed close in games. But Saturday, Utah's defense got beat at its own game. The defense has prided itself in not allowing a lot of rushing yards from its opponents, but Utah gave up 298 yards rushing. Arizona running back Nick Wilson torched Utah's defense as he rushed for 218 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.
While it would be easy to say Utah missed having linebacker Gionni Paul in the game, it was the blown coverage and inability to contain the run that ultimately hurt Utah.
Utah has played a fairly sound defense all season, with several guys stepping up when other players have left the game as a result of an injury. Saturday's performance was the worst of the season, which was likely bound to happen at some point.
Before we talk about Tom Hackett's ability to kick the pigskin down the field, it's the Kaelin Clay 87-yard punt return that shifted the momentum in the game for Utah.
It's been awhile since Clay has taken it back for a touchdown, and the team will have to wait even longer to see it again. Because of a holding penalty called on Boobie Hobbs, Clay's touchdown, and ultimately Utah's only momentum of the game, was ripped away.
While that one penalty wasn't the only aspect of the game that contributed to the loss, it gave Arizona the momentum back and the drive for 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Back to Hackett: he managed to punt it nine times for 401 yards, which is nothing short of great. While Utah would love to not see Hackett get a lot of playing time, he at least delivers when he's called upon.
Saturday's performance was not good enough, especially for the No. 17 ranked Utes. Utah has a week to figure out its issues before finishing the regular season on the road, which has surprisingly been where Utah has performed the best.
Overall, the season has been a success. But the offensive woes for most of the season is starting to overshadow Utah's successes.
