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SALT LAKE CITY — The No. 13 Utah Utes bounced back from its first loss of the season last week and beat the Oregon State Beavers 27-12 Saturday in a lackadaisical affair.
While never really in question, Utah sauntered to a win to improve to 7-1 on the season as the Pac-12 South division leader. The following are a few takeaways from the game.
The overall game was … meh
The overall feel of the game was that of a Power 5 team playing an FCS opponent, except Oregon State has better prospects in the future. The excitement level was not there — in the stands or on the field — particularly for a blackout environment where Utah has seen some thrilling games over the years. Maybe it's the All Hallows' Eve vibe in the air?
It's not that Utah played bad, it's that they just didn't seem to bring a level of excitement for a team looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to USC last week. Maybe Utah was overlooking the Beavers and had their minds already on their road game in Seattle next week. Whatever it was, the game lacked fire, intensity, and overall excitement for a team hoping to still have a shot in the College Football Playoff discussion.
Offense needs to wake up
Speaking of the lack of energy, Utah's offense was non-existent in the second and third quarter of Saturday's game. While it would be easy to say Oregon State's defense adjusted and made it harder for Utah, that was simply not the case. Utah just wasn't getting it done.
The Utes came out fast in the first quarter and scored a quick 14 points, but never kept the momentum going. Utah ended the first quarter with 176 yards of total offense, but finished the game with only 372 total yards of offense.
To Travis Wilson's credit, he orchestrated a good effort on the night by throwing for 198 yards and one touchdown on 14-of-17 passing. He added 56 rushing yards and a touchdown in the win. The offense, as a whole was clean, but it didn't have the firepower many expected against a bad Oregon State team.
Winning's winning
The goal coming into Saturday's game was to not let USC beat Utah twice. It was recounted by Kyle Whittingham and his players several times over the course of the week. And while it wasn't the most exciting game, it was still a win against a Pac-12 team. Utah was able to notch one more mark in the win column, which doesn't hurt as the South's highest-ranked team.
Win and advance is good enough for the head coach, so it's got to be good enough for the rest of us. Or as Vin Diesel's character Dom Torretto in The Fast and The Furious says: "It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning's winning."
Mark that down.
