Burning Questions: Utah vs. Oregon St.
After a dream first half leading Washington 21-0, the second half for Utah was a nightmare, giving up 24 unanswered points and the loss in Seattle. Utah now has lost its first two games of the season and fourth straight overall.
Despite the disappointing results, there have been quite a few positives that bode well for future seasons for this young team. The Utes are second in the Pac-12 and 10th in FBS in first downs allowed per game (18.5), third in FBS in penalties per game (4.0) and are top-30 nationally in time of possession per game.
This week can the Utes pull it all together for their first victory in over a year? Oregon State just beat their bitter rival, Oregon, in a last-minute effort. They are no longer a gimme game, and Utah will need to string together a full game to stay competitive.
Last Week’s Questions
Can the passing attack become more involved?
Jake Bentley had just 16 completions for 144 yards (6.3 yards per completion) and another three turnovers. The receiving corp had just five receptions all game, zero in the second half. Again, the wide receivers did not catch a single pass in 30 minutes of football. That is inexcusable. Bryan Thompson led the way with three receptions for 65 yards, and Solomon Enis had two for six yards.
Will we see improvement from the offensive line?
It was a hit and miss game for the offensive line once again. They yielded three sacks and six tackles for loss, though they did give the running backs enough push for 215 yards through the ground. Stellar in the run game, suspect in pass protection. It’s definitely been a theme among offensive lines throughout the past few years, and the only remedy is continuing to garner game experience.
Will Jake Bentley play within his range?
Another rough outing for Jake Bentley, who has thrown for four interceptions and fumbled twice in his first two games as a Ute. His interceptions came off the deep ball—either our receivers got extremely faster, or he just doesn’t have the arm strength to make those types of throws. He made a few plays through the ground again and seems to be able to take a hit so far, but it’s still nerve wracking seeing an injury-prone quarterback take the hit he does.
This Week’s Question
Will they name Ty Jordan RB1 yet?
Utah’s freshman running back has been the team’s best offensive weapon so far through two games. He had another great performance—Jordan ran for 97 yards on just 10 touches, and had another 31 through the air.
He did have a crucial and game-altering fumble in Washington’s territory, but that will only serve as a learning experience for the talented back. Despite his success, he very well might not be the true RB1 until next season, as the other backs are getting results, although not as explosively. Entering 2021, Jordan and Devin Brumfield could be a fierce “thunder and lightning” one-two punch backfield punch.
How does Bentley respond?
Bentley now has as many interceptions as Tyler Huntley had all of last season. He’s shown flashes of why he was a SEC starter many times, but he’s yet to string a few good series together. He’s definitely a gamer and wants to compete, it just leads him to make questionable decisions that are out of his play range a bit too often.
Will our defense be able to stop Jermar Jefferson?
So far, the run defense has been the best part about Morgan Scalley’s group. Surprised? They have yet to give up 100 yards yet, though Saturday they’ll be faced with a difficult task of containing All-Pac 12 candidate Jermar Jefferson, who already has 675 yards and seven touchdowns during this truncated season.