SALT LAKE CITY — Utah running back Zack Moss delivered punishing run after punishing run in the Utes’ 30-12 season-opening win over BYU last Thursday.
The senior back ended up with an impressive stat line: 29 carries for 187 yards and a touchdown, with a 6.4 yards-per-carry average. On Utah’s final drive, which ate up the last 9:01 of game time, Moss rushed for 54 yards to close out the contest.
“We know the talent we have here, but our job is to go out there each and every week and put the world on notice to what we have here at Utah.” — Utah running back Zack Moss
The performance was noticed by local and national experts, and it helped land Moss in the No. 9 spot on the “Pro Football Focus College Football Heisman Watch” after the first week of play.
“Moss forced a whopping 15 missed tackles against BYU on Thursday night, leading the nation’s running backs by four in that category. In fact, only two running backs forced double-digit missed tackles or more AND converted double-digit first-down and touchdown runs, while Moss led in each of those categories,” PFF’s Cam Mellor wrote.
In addition to his impressive missed tackles forced statistic, PFF also highlighted Moss for his 121 yards after contact and 12 first downs or touchdowns runs, as well as his overall rushing grade of 80.8.
Moss said the Utes’ program “does a good job of understanding that we’re still underdogs” when he joined the Pac-12 Network to discuss the win and the Utes’ national perception.
“We know the talent we have here, but our job is to go out there each and every week and put the world on notice to what we have here at Utah,” he said during the Pac-12 Network segment.