Behind The Opponent: Utah Utes Q&A

UteNation.com publisher Alex Markham answered several questions about the Utah Utes ahead of Saturday afternoon’s matchup with Washington.

Given that Utah hadn't played a game prior to last Saturday vs USC, how much of that result and play was a result of rust and first game woes?

Nearly every bit of it was rust. Despite key graduations Utah is a solid football team once again in 2020. The Covid protocols ravaged their offensive and defensive lines, they backup quarterbacks, and their secondary. This made it so that through contact-tracing as well as some actually having it, that they had very little practice time the two weeks before the USC game.

Additionally, one consistent worry is that Utah’s offensive line seems to always take a few games to settle in. That unit will want to prove that they’re ready and that the protocol is what held them back. If not, this group could make it a rough shortened season for the Utes offense.

With Cameron Rising out, how different is Utah on offense with Jake Bentley at the controls?

Losing Rising is a big blow for Utah. Whittingham will publicly say the two were close in their battle, but that's not what's said in the inner circles. Rising's dual-threat capabilities really opened up the offense. Bentley can run if needed,but he's a pure pocket passer. Coming in as a thee-year SEC starter, one would assume Bentley throws the ball better, but Rising was more consistent passing wise through fall camp.

The truth is, no one really knows what to expect from Bentley yet. He really didn't look great against USC, but he did just barely practice after he was contact-traced for Covid, and held out as a precaution. He could come out and sling it with ease, but last week and historically he's not a high completion percentage passer.

With no Zack Moss this year who will emerge for the Utes at tailback?

The run game results last week weren't the best because of multiple reasons. First off, the offensive line was one of the hard hit position group when dealing with all of the Covid protocols. So they had little time to practice that week. Utah has four solid backs, but that also means it's tough to get into a rhythm for an individual. Lastly, Utah got down too much, too fast. Due to all of that, there's no right or wrong way to defend the Utes ground game.

Ty Jordan is absolutely electrifying. He's a scoring threat any time he touches the ball. He did have a fumble last week, but that was on Bentley for place it into Jordan's shoulder pads. Devin Brumfield is the hammer and he's very similar to a young Zack Moss. Jordan has blazing spped, shiftiness, and he also packs a punch. He just might be the Utes' long term solution as an all-around back.

Who wins and why:

I still don't know what to fully expect from Utah, but last week was a given that they'd struggle with it being their first game and also so many guys limited on practice time due to the Covid protocols.

Until Utah's offense show's me something, I can't pick the Utes. If the Utes can establish the run game they have a shot. If not, life won't be easy for Bentley.

Washington 27, Utah 17