Holy Score: On Utah's new 'normal' offense, the early blowouts and the challenges to come

Following the first road victory of his coaching career, Utah's Morgan Scalley spent nine-and-a-half minutes Saturday afternoon fielding questions from the assembled media.

Scalley discussed Wayshawn Parker's touchdown run on the first play of what became a 31-17 win at Iowa State.

He explained the adjustments the Cyclones made that gave Utah trouble in the third quarter.

He addressed quarterback Devon Dampier's poise under pressure and the benefits to playing a close game.

All of it — every question and comment, every topic and insight — was devoted to what had transpired over three-plus hours on a cloudy, cool afternoon smack in the middle of Iowa.

All of it, except for 12 words.

The final question posed to Scalley, about the dearth of trick plays from Utah's offense compared to previous games, produced the most telling response of the session — the most telling response, perhaps, of the season.

In a mere 12 words, Scalley covered tactics and strategy, schemes and philosophy.

"What you may consider trick plays," he said with no hint of irony or sarcasm, "is just normal offense for us."

And with that, Scalley placed front-and-center the playbook change that accompanied the coaching change and provides fuel for what could be a run to the Big 12 championship and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Trick plays as "normal offense"?

We are old enough to remember when a downfield pass was considered a trick play in Salt Lake City.

OK, that's something of an overstatement. But the playbook evolution under Scalley and first-year coordinator Kevin McGiven, who relocated from Utah State, is the most intriguing development to emerge from 13th-ranked Utah's stellar opening month.

"Those formations are still there," Scalley noted about the perceived absence of chicanery.

"It's just gameplan-by-gameplan. What are (the opponent's) strengths and how are we going to expose that or take advantage of that? Based on the looks they were giving us, that determined what we were going to try and do."

And with that, Scalley was off — off to grab his gear and board the flight home and prepare for Utah's bye week and the challenges ahead.

His luggage did not, according to sources, include the white jacket or protective goggles used by mad scientists.

But the offense on display throughout September makes the style of play under Kyle Whittingham seem like a relic of a long-forgotten era. That is not a criticism of Whittingham, who built a Hall of Fame resume with an offense that was heavy on the traditional trappings of power football.

But the formations and personnel groupings under Scalley and McGiven are like iPhones compared to Whittingham's rotary-dial playbook.

For example: the first play from scrimmage Saturday afternoon.

The Utes positioned four players in the backfield, including an offensive lineman and tight end. Dampier went in motion to the right, and the ball was snapped directly to Parker, the tailback, who blasted off left tackle for a 54-yard touchdown run.

On numerous occasions, both against the Cyclones and in previous games, the Utes have played two quarterbacks, Dampier and Byrd Ficklin, at the same time. Occasionally, they will both be flexed out as receivers — two quarterbacks on the field, neither actually playing quarterback.

Because both Dampier and Ficklin are dual-threat playmakers, the pairing creates a quadruple quagmire for the defense. It's like the Utes have 13 players to the opponent's 11.

One of Utah's favorite formations features four players in the backfield lined up side-by-side.

"That's a crazy backfield set," Scalley said. "You're trying to create confusion, eye confusion."

For longtime Utah watchers, it's more disbelief than confusion.

That said, creativity hardly guarantees success. For all their dominance — the Utes are outscoring their opponents by 33 points per game — there are challenges ahead for the rookie head coach and his new coordinator.

We see three, in particular:

— How will Utah adjust to the adjustments?

With each game, opponents have more tape to examine and trends to discover.

With each week, defenses will be better prepared. Confusion will diminish. They will have answers when Dampier goes in motion and Ficklin flexes out wide.

How will Scalley and McGiven adjust the offense to keep the formations fresh and execution clean?

— Will the offensive line hold up?

The evolution of the playbook is, in fact, one of two remarkable twists unfolding in the Scalley era.

Think about all the years Utah's fate hinged on the quarterback, receivers and running backs generating enough touchdowns to beat USC, Oregon and Washington and, more recently, Texas Tech and BYU.

This season, the skill positions are set. The unknown element? The offensive line, which used to be as dependable as the sunrise. The Utes are replacing two first-round NFL draft selections in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu.

It's far too early to declare the transition seamless.

— Will the offense function when it matters?

With each victory, the Utes churn closer to the most delicious endgame of all: a date in the Holy War with the conference title and playoff berth at stake.

BYU has been equally impressive. Both teams are undefeated and set to plow through a series of outmanned Big 12 opponents prior to their Week 10 showdown in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

(Yes, the 10th-ranked Cougars have a momentous date with No. 3 Notre Dame in a few weeks, but that won't impact the conference race.)

Given how the past two Holy Wars have played out, with the Utes scoring just 21 points in each, the 2026 edition stands as Judgment Day for the Scalley-McGiven style of play.

So far, the change has worked to perfection. The offense is essentially unrecognizable. But will it work when it matters most?

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