PROVO — After last week’s 30-12 season opening win at BYU, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham was anxious to get going. After all, the 14th-ranked Utes have more things to do in order to meet lofty goals ahead.
“We’ve got to move on. This one’s over with. We have a couple home games and then we get going in the Pac-12,” Whittingham said. “We have a lot ahead of us, so it’s good to get this one in the rearview mirror. Away we go.”
On Saturday, the Utes host Northern Illinois in their home opener at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.
Utah enters the game on the heels of a strong showing by the defense at BYU. Linebacker Francis Bernard and safety Julian Blackmon returned interceptions for touchdowns and defensive end Mika Tafua set up another score with a fumble recovery.
“I know we made some mistakes, but you have to give credit to Utah. Their defensive stops, they made some big plays. They gave us some different looks,” said BYU coach Kalani Sitake. “They had a lot of control on the line of scrimmage. I think Kyle said that this is one of his best defenses he’s had, and I believe him. They are a great bunch and there is a great group of talent on that team.”
The Utes made six stops behind the line of scrimmage and broke up four passes in defeating the Cougars for the ninth straight time.
But Utah led only 9-6 at halftime after sluggish starts by the offense and special teams. The Utes had only 125 yards (33 passing) and missed an PAT kick, ending a streak of 182 consecutive makes.
“We didn’t get much going in the first half, just that one defensive score,” Whittingham said. “Our special teams was disappointing tonight. We know we need to do much better. Our offense didn’t get much going in the first half, either.”
Things improved in the second half as running back Zack Moss wound up finishing with 181 yards rushing and a touchdown by game’s end. Quarterback Tyler Huntley completed 13 of 16 passes for 106 yards. Whittingham was pleased with how the senior took care of the football and ran the offense.
When asked about changes made at halftime, wide receiver Britain Covey said the key was eliminating chaos.
“That’s the key in any opener,” he said. “If you look at the difference between the two teams and the amount of chaos on both sides, that’s kind of what made the game. We eliminated chaos and then we started to pick it up.”
Huntley noted that the Utes simply got rid of the first-game jitters and made corrections.
It was the defense, however, that set the tone in the opener.
“They’re gangsters. We have gangsters on our side of the ball,” Huntley said. “I tell them every time before they go out to give me the ball back and that’s what they do.”
Utah scored on three of four drives in the second half (missing a field goal on the other series) before running out the final 9:19 of regulation in a game featuring a 54-minute lightning delay.
EXTRA POINTS: Northern Illinois opened the season with a 24-10 victory over Illinois State at home on Saturday. ... Moss upped his career rushing total to 2,838 yards, trailing only Eddie Johnson (3,219) and Tony Lindsay (2,995) as the best in team history. ... Blackmon and linebacker Devin Lloyd topped the Utes with five tackles apiece.