The University of Utah survived a pesky Arizona Wildcats squad on Saturday, 38-29, despite going into the game heavily favored. With only one win on the season, the Wildcats had nothing to lose and the Utah defense was out of sync. Thanks in large part to the Utes’ offensive performance, Utah survived the “trap game.”

Here are the takeaways from the game:

Congrats to the greatest Utes coach

It wasn’t the easiest one to get, but Utah’s win against Arizona moved head coach Kyle Whittingham into a tie for most wins in school history, tying Ike Armstrong at 141. It’s been 17 years of consistency, as Whittingham has taken the Utes from upstart BCS Busters to one of the best football programs in the Pac-12.

Whittingham has also stayed loyal to the University of Utah when other big-time programs have come calling.

Along the way he’s won with class while running a clean program. He’s never expected the program to be something it’s not and he’s maximized the talent he’s coached.

He’s a living legend at his craft.

The kicking group is the worst of the Whittingham era

It’s not fun being this blunt, but in this case, it’s valid. There’s not much to keep rehashing here, other than the punting almost cost Utah another game. This time, the line of protection didn’t hold and the kick was so slow to get out—resulting in a block and a touchdown. With the field goals on the day, Jadon Redding did hit his one chip shot attempt.

Utah kicking has gone from a steady group that you never had to worry about, to a unit that you now watch expecting the worst. That’s not a comforting feeling for the coaches, the players, or the fans.

The officiating was a joke

Let's get this out of the way first, I can think of one phantom face mask penalty against Arizona when they tackled TJ Pledger. I’m sure there were other bad calls against them. Mostly though, it was the Utes that the refs were my growing questionable flags on. Cole Bishop was called for two personal fouls, both questionable—one a hard hit to the Arizona player's shoulder and the other where it was near impossible to stop his momentum. They called initial targeting calls on Devin Kaufusi, Vonte Davis, if memory serves, there was at least one more.

Meanwhile, Arizona hammered Micah Bernard on the crown of the helmet knocking him out of the game for a bit. He somehow didn’t get a concussion with how bad he was initially needing attention on the field. Then Chris Curry gets popped in the helmet on the sideline. Both were egregious calls. The refs also seemed to protect Arizona quarterback Will Plummer on hits more than some borderline hits to Cam Rising.

These calls weren’t the reason it was a close game, but they’re the type of calls that can get in players’ heads and throw them completely off their games.

Luckily, every targeting call was reversed, although most had personal fouls still applied. Utah won’t have anyone serving any kind of suspension for the Oregon game.

Utah offense carried the defense

Like the officiating portion, let’s get the negative out of the way first. Utah’s defense was bad against a 1-win team. What should have been a game where you’re giving backups experience in the third quarter, turned into a trap game and a fight until the very end.

Thankfully for Utah’s defense, the Utah offense came to play, despite Tavion Thomas being out with an injury.

With Thomas being out in what was termed as “precautionary,” TJ Pledger ran 25 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Micah Bernard ran 10 times for 34 yards and added three catches for 60. Both running backs got dinged up and came back into the game.

Known for their stout pass defense, Rising shredded Arizona for 294 yards and two touchdowns on 19-30 passing. He also had a 50 yard pass to Britain Covey called back due to a holding call that likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the play.

Starters along the offensive line, Nick Ford and Paul Maile both were injured in the game, so that’s a concern as Utah preps for no. 3 Oregon. A bigger concern or worry, however, is whether the defense will get back in a groove. Both sides of the ball need to play well against an Oregon team fighting for a playoff spot.

Up next

The University of Utah’s showdown with the Oregon Ducks will kickoff at 5:30PM MST on ABC. They’ll battle it out on Saturday November 20th at Rice-Eccles Stadium, in what is expected to be a preview of the Pac-12 Championship Game, two weeks later.