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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah kicked off the 2016 season in a home opener against Southern Utah Thursday night, and while the Utes came away with an easy 24-0 win, the excecution was far from perfect.
Untimely penalties killed Utah offensive drives while the offensive line was unable to consistently get a push, with the Utes struggling to get into rhythm on the ground.
But with the bad there also was plenty of good. Here are my instant observations after Utah's win:
Utah's passing attack is vastly improved
Utah quarterback Troy Williams opened the game up with a deep pass on Utah's first offensive play. While it was incomplete, it was a sign of things to come. Williams, who only played 3 1/2 quarters, finished 20-of-35 for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns, adding 15 yards on the ground. The most impressive part was that Williams had seven passes of 15 or more yards, including a 57 yard TD to Tim Patrick and a 52 yard toss to Raelon Singleton.
In fact, by halftime, Williams had already thrown for more passing yards (175) than Utah had in six games in 2015.
Utah's wide receivers were impressive, led by Tim Patrick. The 6'5 senior had 5 catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns.
In addition, it was encouraging to see Utah take shots downfield on third and long rather than settle for a draw play and playing for field position.
Defense earns first shutout since 2012
Utah's defense started slow, but sharpened quickly en route to Utah's first defensive shutout since Northern Colorado in 2012.
Utah gave up 67 yards to the T-Birds on their first two possessions, but held them to just 91 yards the rest of the game.
Safety Marcus Williams was the defensive MVP, forcing a fumble, recovering that same fumble and also intercepting a pass.
Where was the rushing attack?
Give credit to Southern Utah's defensive front. They didn't allow Utah's offensive line to get any push in the trenches, keeping Utah from getting any consistent production in the ground game. Give credit to Troy McCormick for making the most of his touches, leading the team with 12 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Joe Williams also had 12 carries for 49 yards, but did put the ball on the ground in a turnover to SUU.
Offensive line coach Jim Harding will need to come up with some new schemes this week in practice as the run block was just not good enough tonight. But on the bright side, the pass protection was actually pretty good.
Newcomers that stood out
2016 was a new season that showcased plenty of newcomers — not only those new to the team, but those with new positions or first time starters. Here are a few that stood out.
- Cody Barton: the sophomore linebacker led the team with 11 tackles, one of which was for a loss.
- Mitch Wishnowsky: it is hard to fill the shoes of a back to back Ray Guy award winner in Tom Hackett, but Mitch did a great job punting for the Utes, finishing with 6 punts for 333 yards (55.5 yards per punt), with a long of 66 yards and two that pinned SUU inside their own 20.
- Boobie Hobbs: Utah's new punt returner did a great job finding the open lanes, finishing with 55 yards on 5 returns (11 avg).
