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Offense wins games but defense wins championships.
So this wasn't the BCS Title game. It wasn't even a bowl game. It was the home opener and season opener for the University of Utah in their second year in the Pac-12. That being said, the Utes had a lot to prove this game, even if it was against the Bears of Northern Colorado. They did just that by shutting the Bears out 41-0.
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The defense has not been something to laugh about or look over when it comes to Utah football. They showed that at Rice-Eccles Stadium Thursday afternoon when they held the Bears' total offense to 114 yards and didn't allow them to cross midfield all game. The Utah defense held Northern Colorado to just two yards rushing in the first half, including negative three yards in the first quarter. UNC had just 41 total yards in the first half.
"The defense did exactly what it was supposed to do," said Head Coach Kyle Whittingham. "You don't always do what you're supposed to do, so [when you do] that's a positive."
We certainly understand there's some bigger challenges on the horizon.
–Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham
The defense put up some impressive numbers including two sacks for 20 yards, an interception that was returned for 24 yards and a touchdown by Joe Kruger. They were able to force five fumbles and turn it over on one of them. The defense were on their game all night and it showed on the scoreboard, not allowing a single point.
In front of a sellout crowd, Utah was able to win a fifth consecutive season opener and send the crowd home happy. It's going to take a little more execution on both ends of the ball to continue an undefeated season.
"We certainly understand there's some bigger challenges on the horizon," Whittingham said. "We're not just sitting here thinking we have all the answers on defense. I feel like our defensive line will match up in the conference, anyone in the country for that matter. I have no hesitation about that. Obviously, the degree of difficulty goes way up in the next coming weeks."
Alex Rivera is the Assistant Sports Editor of the UVU Review. You can contact him at arivera.2011@hotmail.com or through his Twitter account @A_River_Uh
