Analysis: Utah’s fun — and effective — offense steals the show in big win vs. Arkansas

It’s easy to picture Utah offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven with a wide grin in the booth above the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium during many moments of the Utes’ 43-10 win over Arkansas on Saturday night.

If Utah’s 66-14 victory over Idaho last week was the appetizer for what Ute fans can expect from their new offensive coordinator, the win over Arkansas was the main course.

McGiven’s creativity started from the very first offensive snap.

Quarterback Devon Dampier took the snap and threw it five yards back to backup quarterback Byrd Ficklin, who chucked it deep across the field to Wayshawn Parker for a 36-yard gain.

During an offensive meeting on Friday, McGiven told the other coaches that he was dialing up the double pass.

“He was like, ‘I’m doing it,’ and all the coaches are like, ‘No, you’re not. No, you’re not,’” Dampier said. “Then he came in our meeting this morning and was like, ‘We’re running it. If I say it, I’m about what I say.’”

“He did it and Byrd’s got a crazy arm just to be able to get that out there. Wayshawn was like, ‘Byrd, you better throw me the ball. I’m going to catch it regardless,’ so I’m happy it all worked out. It was a very good momentum boost.”

That was just a warmup for what McGiven would show throughout Saturday night’s win.

Later in that first drive, Dampier threw it to Ficklin — a forward pass this time — for a gain of 11.

McGiven was just getting started.

There was a Ficklin handoff to Dampier, who pitched it back to Ficklin for a first down.

“The handoff exchange pitch between Devon and Byrd was a pretty cool deal,” head coach Morgan Scalley said. “It’s something we’ve been working on for a little bit, but if all of a sudden it doesn’t work, then it’s like, ‘Oh, you were too cute.’ But it worked, so hooray us.”

There were multiple times Dampier would take a few steps forward, faking like he was going to run the ball, only to pass right before he crossed the line of scrimmage.

Early in the second quarter with Utah up 13-3, McGiven decided to go for a two-point conversion after a touchdown, just for the heck of it. With the way his offense was working, why not?

On the two-point conversion, long snapper Logan Castor lined up a few steps away from where the five linemen and the backfield was lined up. The snap was shoveled by Castor from the right side to Mana Carvalho, who ran it in for two points.

Utah rolled out more unique formations, including one that featured Dampier in shotgun with Daniel Bray, Ficklin and Parker all lined up parallel to each other across the 45-yard-line. Dampier motioned Ficklin, who looped back around to the backfield, and the handoff went to Bray for no gain.

OK, so not every one of McGiven’s ideas went for a big gain, but for the most part, he succeeded in calling an excellent game to help the Utes improve to 2-0 on the season.

You had to keep your heads on a swivel while Utah was on offense. On nearly every play, there was some kind of motion or misdirection. That’s something Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield had called out earlier in the week, saying his players had to play disciplined and trust their eyes and assignments, but in the end, the Hogs got caught up in the Utes’ offensive whirlwind.

“I’ve said all along, the quarterbacks are like running backs,” Silverfield said. “We didn’t do a good enough job tackling them and tackling them well and then they got us on some stuff where they’d run it, pull in and hit the dart pass quickly. It gives defenses fits.

“… The two quarterback system causes some headaches, obviously the double throw to start the game. We saw it coming but we just weren’t in good enough position to make the play on the ball.”

What’s this? A Utah offense that is fun to watch?

It’s fun to play in, too.

“Mac G likes to have fun,” Dampier said of McGiven. “I think if you could describe his offense, it’s fun. Especially having Byrd out there, I mean, it stresses the defense a lot. Just the fact that the defense has to try to guard all that, it’s just a fun offense to be in.”

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Utah totaled 442 yards of offense and averaged 7.1 yards per play. Parker led the way with three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) and 129 all-purpose yards. Dampier threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns on a 75% completion rate with one interception and also rushed for 50 yards and two touchdowns.

Dampier spread the ball around to a variety of options. Tight end Noah Bennee led the way in receiving yards with 113 and a touchdown, thanks to three receptions of 25 or more yards, but nine o Utes caught passes.

The new-look offensive line passed its first real test, especially in pass protection, allowing just one sack. Dampier’s interception was partly on the offensive line, as a missed block allowed an Arkansas defender to drill him as he was throwing, but overall, the line protected Dampier well.

“I thought they did tremendous,” Dampier said. “We told the whole O-line at the beginning of the week, ‘This is the week y’all going to be tested,’ and they took that with a chip on their shoulder.

“I thought we had probably one of the best weeks of practices going from Monday to walkthrough on Friday. I thought those guys were dialed in. Arkansas did a lot of different stuff with their fronts and pressures and, man, I didn’t feel it.”

In the run game, the line still has work to do — Pro Football Focus graded the unit a 57.5 in run blocking — but they did well enough to clear lanes for Parker and Dampier throughout the game.

There are areas of needed improvement, but the Utes look ahead of schedule on the offensive line.

If there was one thing the Utah offense needs to refine heading into its matchup on Saturday against Utah State, it’s penalties — the Utes were flagged five times on Saturday.

Scalley said in the lead-up to Saturday night’s contest that the game would be decided in the trenches, and the Utes handily won the battle on the defensive side as well.

Defensive tackle was looked at as a question mark heading into the season, but after Saturday, it’s a potential strength. In particular, Jireh Moe could prove to be an excellent find out of the transfer portal.

Listed at 6-foot and 280 pounds (though Scalley admits he’s shorter than that), Moe is definitely undersized compared to a typical defensive tackle, but Utah got him out of the portal not by looking at his height and weight, but by zeroing in on his one-on-one snaps at San Jose State, especially against Power Four programs.

The tape doesn’t lie. Moe can play, and he certainly showed that against an Arkansas offensive line that had the size advantage over him.

He was disruptive, notching a sack, a team-high two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry to go alongside eight tackles.

“Jireh Moe, eight tackles, two TFLs, one sack — all over the place,” Scalley said. “He didn’t show up on the stat sheet Game 1. Sometimes that happens, but the biggest reason we took that guy in the portal was because of the one-on-one matchups that he would consistently win, and that guy is so active. Impressive game from him tonight.”

Aside from the opening drive, Utah made Razorback quarterback KJ Jackson’s life tough with four sacks, seven quarterback hurries and more than a few balls batted down at the line of scrimmage.

“We’re going to continue to be aggressive,” Scalley said. “Batting the ball down at the line of scrimmage is very deflating to a quarterback. We’re about pass efficiency and pass defense efficiency, and anytime you’re able to bat a ball down, it frustrates the quarterback so much.”

In the secondary, the Utes notched 13 pass breakups, playing excellent coverage all night long. Utah’s tackling was also outstanding — the Utes didn’t miss a single tackle.

Jackson completed just 41% of his passes for 139 yards and Jackson Bennee picked him off after a deflection. While the Hogs were poised on their opening drive that went for a field goal, after that, they did not get into the red zone until the late fourth quarter, when the game was already in hand.

On a Saturday full of big upsets, including Kyle Whittingham and Michigan beating No. 11 Oklahoma and Oklahoma State shocking No. 6 Oregon, No. 20 Utah took care of business, and looked pretty dominant doing so.

“Solid performance from our guys. I was super proud of them,” Scalley said. “You look across college football and there are upsets all over the place and teams not necessarily playing consistent, and I thought for the first two weeks, I felt we played consistent.”