It was an ugly and sloppy battle, but the Utes found a way to escape with a 30-24 win over the Arizona Wildcats Friday night in Tuscon, Arizona.
Utah is now 4-0 (1-0 in the Pac-12) going into its bye week.
Scoring recap
Utah’s offense didn’t waste any time by scoring on its first drive when Tyler Huntley found Samson Nacua on an 8-yard pass to make it 7-0 in the first quarter. The Wildcats responded with a 32-yard field goal late in the first quarter. The Utes made it a two-possession game after back-to-back field goals made by Matt Gay. Gay nailed a 41-yarder to make it 10-3. He later hit a 26-yard field goal to make it 13-3 in the first quarter. Arizona responded back when quarterback Brandon Dawkins rushed 1-yard to the end zone to make it 13-10 with less than two minutes to go in the second quarter.
Midway through the third quarter, Troy Williams scored on a 1-yard run for the Utes’ third touchdown of the night, making it 20-10. The Cats kept the game close after J.J. Taylor rushed 7 yards for Arizona’s second touchdown to make it 20-17 in the third quarter. Utah bounced back on defense after Dawkins threw a pick-six to Javelin Guidry to make it 27-17 in the late third quarter. The Utes kept doing more damage after Gay hit his third field goal — this time from 37 yards — to make it 30-17. Arizona scored late after Dawkins found Tony Ellison in a 30-yard pass to make it 30-24 with 2:44 left in the fourth. Arizona recovered the onside kick, but the game ended on an interception by Corrion Ballard.
Utah's stars
Troy Williams
After Huntley went down with a shoulder injury in the second quarter, Williams filled in for the starting quarterback and managed the offense. Williams completed 50 percent of his passes for 133 yards. He also relied on his legs to score his first touchdown of the season. Despite Huntley’s injury, Williams didn’t panic and was prepared for when his name was called.
The secondary
The team that creates the most turnovers will most likely to win the game, and that’s exactly how it happened Friday. Utes forced five Arizona turnovers, and their defensive backs played ballhawk the entire night. It started off with Chase Hansen, who caught a tipped pass for an interception. Three drives later, Guidry converted pick-six, giving the Utes a two-possession lead. And late in the fourth quarter, another interception by Ballard essentially ended the game. Casey Hughes forced two fumbles as well, and that made a huge difference for the No. 23 Utes. Hughes is the first Utah player to force two fumbles in a game since former Ute pass-rusher Nate Orchard did it against Stanford in 2013.
Matt Gay
Gay was once again flawless in the kicking game. He was 3 for 3 in field goals. Gay has now converted 14 consecutive field goals this season. The streak is now the third-longest in Utah history. For a former soccer player, Gay has created an elite resume as a place-kicker. In only four games he has scored 44 total points, and he holds the longest field-goal made in the nation this season. (56)
Analyzing the stats
It was struggling night for the offense. Utah was 2 of 10 in third-down conversions. Arizona’s offense outplayed Utah through the ground and through the air, recording 448 total yards while Utah recorded 341.
Penalties also played the factor in the Utes’ struggle. Utah committed nine penalties for 83 yards. In four games in, Utah has now committed 37 penalties, which ranks 129 in the nation, for 365 yards (130th).
Utah has now created 14 turnovers this season, which ties with South Florida for first in the country. The Utes are also ranked second in the nation in interceptions with nine.
What’s next
Utah has a bye week next week. This will be the time for the Utes to correct their mistakes and for Huntley to get treated and rest his injured shoulder. How long Huntley will be out is yet to be determined. According to Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, it is not season-ending.
The Utes will be back at home to face Stanford on Oct. 7.