After a convincing 42-26 victory against the USC Trojans, the University of Utah now turns its attention to the Arizona State Sun Devils, it’s a game that very well could decide the eventual winner of the Pac-12 South division.

Let’s take a look back at the burning questions for the USC game and also look ahead to Arizona State:

Who is the kicker?

Despite the depth chart saying otherwise earlier in the week, Jordan Noyes took over the kicking duties from Jadon Redding. There really was no reason whatsoever to not make the switch as Redding was 5-8 on field goals and 9-11 on extra points. He’s not a bad kicker, as evidenced by his 2020 All-Pac-12 season, but he’s in his own head and missed crucial kicks in both of Utah’s losses.

Ever since taking over the duties against Washington State, Jordan Noyes has gone 8-8 on extra points and has yet to kick a field goal—something Redding was tasked with doing a lot of, but at reasonable distances. Will the change stick? It should for at least one more week and the bar for him to keep the role in 2021 has quite honestly been set extremely low.

What will the running back reps look like?

Both Micah Bernard and TJ Pledger had five carries a piece for 18 and 4 yards, respectively. Tavion Thomas Thomas took full advantage of the BYE to work on his fumbling issues and he was rewarded against the Trojans—with 16 carries—while at the same time rewarding his coaches’ faith in him with 113 yards and one touchdown. Chris Curry finished the night with one attempt.

If Thomas can limit his fumbling issues and if Bernard can stay healthy, they’re Utah’s go-to 1-2 punch. Aside from their running ability, Bernard is an effective pass catcher out of the backhand Thomas is a devastating blocker.

Which receiver finally has a breakout game?

Hello, Devaughn Vele. Of course, there was Britain Covey, who was solid as usual with five receptions for 67 yards. However, the breakout star was Vele with four receptions for 84 yards and the 37-yard touchdown off of the flea-flicker from Cam Rising. Look for his emergence to continue going forward, as he’s too valuable of a downfield weapon. One area of his game he’ll want to improve against Arizona State though, will be his blocking.

Now on to this week’s questions:

USC’s defense is bad, so was the offensive performance something to expect going forward?

All three of USC’s losses have come at home. In those games, the Trojans have surrendered over 40+ points. Their defense is brutal. However, a quick look back at the film and Rising showed pinpoint accuracy for the most part. Additionally, if Thomas holds onto the ball, not many teams will be able to contain his bruising and violent running style.

Rising has brought a confidence and swagger to the Utah offense that seems contagious. If they perform against Arizona State the way they did against USC, Utah will be the favorite in the Pac-12 South and the “woulda coulda and shoulda” about the offense and Utah’s season will be talked about through college football.

Can they light up the stat sheet and the scoreboard against their Pac-12 South rival? Stay tuned…

Can Utah improve their defensive edge containment?

The improvement from the Utes defensive ends Mika Tafua, Van Fillinger, and Xavier Carlton has been huge over the last two games. Carlton has shown steady improvement, Tafua has been his typical self, and Fillinger had three sacks against Washington State. That’s all fine and great, but neither team had a quarterback who was a threat to run the ball.

The two running quarterbacks they’ve faced, Jaren Hall and Lucas Johnson, combined for 16 carries and 179 yards against the defense. Hall in particular, broke Utah’s containment time and time again. Arizona State Sun Devil’s quarterback Jayden Daniels has 55 carries on the year for 369 yards. If that one area of the defensive ends’ games doesn’t show significant improvement, it could be a long night for Utah’s defense.

Who emerges at corner out of Faybian Marks and Zemaiah Vaughn?

It’s unfair to judge both guys against USC and their pass-heavy attack. Marks saw nearly double the amount of snaps that Vaughn did, but by PFF standards, Vaughn had far and away the better game with a 75.9 rating compared to 56.7 for Marks. Again, it’s not fair to judge their performance against a guy like Drake London. Therefore, this Saturday should give the coaching staff a better idea of who of the two can be relied upon for starters reps, as they replace All-Pac-12 cornerback JaTravis Broughton.