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SALT LAKE CITY — It wasn't the most decisive outcome, but the No. 13 Utah Utes came away with a 27-12 win over the Oregon State Beavers Saturday.
The game lacked a lot of excitement, but the overall play wasn't bad against the worst team in the Pac-12. The following is a grading of Utah's performance Saturday.
Offense: B
Now before anyone reacts at my B grade based on nothing happening in the second and third quarter for the offense, Utah was effective with what it had. Sure, those two quarters were absent of anything offensively, but it seems those issues came with play-calling and not on the offense not getting any production.
Travis Wilson finished the game throwing for 198 yards and one touchdown on 14-of-17 passing. He added 56 yards and one touchdown on the ground. Wilson bounced back from his four-interception night last week and managed the offense well with a high efficiency. Booker, too, was effective with his 121 rushing yards and one touchdown. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry, which is great.
Consistency is key here for the offense. They're not going to be flashy, they're going to grind it out and win games. And that's what Utah did; simple as that.
Defense: A- ===========The defense welcomed back Jared Norris with open arms as the Utes kept Oregon State from doing much of anything all game. Except for a breakdown on one play where Beavers Jordan Villamin escaped a tackled and broke free for a 74-yard gain, Utah contained the offense well.
The defense didn't put too much pressure on the offense, but it didn't really need to against the Beavers. However, Chase Hansen's sack on Nick Mitchell was the defensive highlight of the night.
The defense failed to get a takeaway for the second game in a row. The opportunities were there, but Utah was able to capitalize. Utah could find itself in more close games if it continues to struggle to get some takeaways in its remaining four games of the regular season.
Special Teams: A ================There was nothing wrong with the special teams play Saturday. Andy Phillips had another great night, making two deep field goals from distances of 45 and 49 yards. Phillips was also perfect in his PAT attempts.
Hackett had a strong night in his three punts. He averaged 54 yards per punt for a total of 162 yards. His longest punt went for 56 yards.
Coaching: C- ============While the game plan wasn't expected to be too explosive, it was average and relatively conservative, particularly in the second and third quarter. Utah started out fast and established a quick lead, but after that it was basically just managing the lead on offense and defense.
On offense, Utah needs to find more of a balance between the run and the passing game. Last week against USC it was too pass heavy, this week it was too run heavy. Head coach Kyle Whittingham said the game plan was to use the run and play-action pass, but it seems Utah was content on the run with 44 rushing attempts.
The game felt average, but the production level was at a high level. It's not a game many will look back upon, which is fortunate for Utah because there wasn't too much to be excited about other than getting another win on the season.
