The University of Utah opened Pac-12 play with a decisive win Saturday against a struggling Arizona State squad 34-13. The Utes defense swallowed up the Sun Devils run game while the offense hammered down the field to finish the night with 462 yards of total offense.

Let's take a look back at our burning questions against ASU and ahead to this week's match-up against Oregon State:

Does Utah’s slow starts on offense factor into this game?

The Utah offense came to play Saturday night against the Sun Devils. After slow starts the past few weeks, everything was clicking for the offensive unit from the start.

Cam Rising completed 19 of 29 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns came in the first quarter when Cam hit a wide open tight end Dalton Kincaid off a flea flicker for 29 yards, and then again to Kincaid shortly before the end of the quarter on a 4th and 1. The start was night and day for the Utes offensively compared to previous weeks. The wide receivers Devaughn Vele, Solomon Enis and Money Parks also added 98 yards to Utah’s offensive dominance Saturday night.

The running backs as a unit stepped up to the plate after Tavion Thomas was benched due to undisclosed circumstances – he was ultimately put in midway through the third quarter. The true freshman Jaylon Glover got his first career start, and Ja’Quinden Jackson was switched from quarterback to running back after the season ending injury to Chris Curry – resulting in his first career game at running back and he also earned his first rushing touchdown. Jackson really showed how athletic and talented he is; he will be a weapon for the offense this season.

Should Utah be concerned about the unknowns facing an interim head coach?

The current program situation at ASU after the Herm Edwards exit wasn't a factor for the Utes. Utah shut down the Sun Devils run game to a total of six yards on the night, while Utah amassed 462 total yards on offense, 205 of which were on the ground from the running backs unit. With an interesting locker room situation, the group stepped up to the plate with the “next man up” mentality with Curry’s injury and Thomas’ first half benching.

Even though the Utes’ had some adversity on and off the field, it didn’t slow down their walloping of the Sun Devils on Saturday.

Will Utah hit the explosive plays?

Whittingham has expressed several times the lack of presence on the outside of the field. It’s definitely an area that is needing attention in order to continue success this season offensively. On Saturday, we saw an active presence throughout all positions on the field. Collectively, the offense was able to attack in all areas of the field by creating two-on-one mismatches that helped the Utes pound down the field with every snap. Ultimately, the Utes finished the game with 26 first downs and an average of 6.3 yards per offensive snap.

This week, the Utes look forward to facing a 3-1 Oregon State team here at Rice Eccles Stadium. Let's take a look at our burning questions for the upcoming matchup.

How does Utah adjust to the loss of the Brant Kuithe?

There is no doubt that the loss of Kuithe puts a huge hole straight through the middle of the offense. Just four games into the season, Kuithe had 19 receptions for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He was well on his way to triple those stat numbers by the end of the 2022 season like he did last year. As one of the Rising’s top targets and a presence as a leader on the field, he will be missed tremendously. How the offense steps up with the loss is something that will be a focal point this week.

Will we see a more heavy run game? Will the wide receivers play a larger role? Luckily, the Utes have the guys in the depth chart that will step up. Beyond Kincaid, Thomas Yassmin will most likely take a majority of Kuithe’s reps, and if Saturday’s performance was any indicator, his physicality on the field can be a force to be reckoned with. Another possibility is seeing Munir McClain’s role increase – McClain converted from wide receiver to tight end in the spring.

Will we see a battle of the defenses?

Utah’s productivity on the defense has flipped from missing tackles and poor run defense to completely shutting down the offense of their opponent. While the Beavers look to go back-to-back in beating Utah, this will be a revenge game for the Utes after suffering their lone Pac-12 loss to Oregon State last season.

Last week, the Beaver’s held the USC Trojans to just 357 yards of total offense and 17 points, even though USC has been averaging 500 yards and 30 plus points in a game. The Beavers’ quarterback, Chance Nolan, threw four interceptions in their loss, but the OSU defense stepped up big time after the third interception on their own 5 yard line, forcing a three-and-out making the Trojans punt it away on their 2 yard line.

Utah will likely’ dial up pressure against the Beavers offense utilizing guys like Junior Tafuna, who’s been a beast at defensive tackle, Karene Reid, who is tied for most tackles (13) among the linebackers, and Cole Bishop, who leads the teams in tackles with 24 and is also sitting on top all secondary Pac-12 players averaging eight tackles per game.

If the Utes can effectively attack with the seven, not blow containment, and create turnovers, the offense will have its fair share of opportunities to capitalize. It’s important for Utah to not suffer another slow start to the game, but that could be easier said than done with the loss of Brant Kuithe. Look for Utah to go with a more hurried up approach early-on, as that worked against the Sun Devils.