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SALT LAKE CITY — There are a lot of adjectives to describe the University of Utah’s defensive performance in its season opener against Weber State on Thursday. Elite is the word Weber State head coach Jay Hill chose to use.
“That’s an elite, big-time Pac-12 — not just a good — defense,” Hill said.
In their 41-10 win, the Utes, who racked up 587 total offensive yards, held the Wildcats to just 61 total yards on offense on 53 plays. It’s the third-lowest yard total Utah has allowed in program history. Utah held Utah State to 42 yards in 1950 and Idaho to 58 yards in 1953.
“If you look at the stats, the bottom line is that we got our butts kicked,” Hill said.
Utah’s defensive efforts were as advertised. The secondary, filled with players who had starting experience at every position, pressured the Wildcats to only 13 passing yards, and Julian Blackmon and Marquise Blair both had two pass breakups. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham described the group as “all who we needed them to be.”
Weber State was without starting running back Treshawn Garrett, who left the game early with a knee injury. As a result, the Wildcats were only able to rack up 48 total rushing yards in the loss.
The “darn good football team,” as described by Hill, was led in tackles by John Penisini. The defensive tackle finished with a career-high six tackles and team-high three tackles for loss. Linebacker Chase Hansen had five tackles in his first stint since switching positions.
“That’s as good of a defense as anyone is going to play this year,” Hill said. “We knew that coming in.”
Although it’s just one game checked off the season’s list, the defense appears to be something special. Utah will get another test to limit an opposing offense against Northern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 5:30 p.m. MT.
