Instead of discussing what Utah did wrong or what they could do better, I'm going to enjoy this win. The season is nearly halfway over and I'm not sure how many victories are left on this schedule, so I won't take the Utah State one for granted. With that said, I am still concerned with some of Utah's play, namely what was on display in the fourth quarter. It was a very sloppy quarter and it appeared the Utes essentially were going through the motions, not good. A team, especially one that was 1-3, should continue to fight, even when victory is apparent. Against a better team, this performance in the fourth very well could have cost them the game.
The best thing from Utah's victory Saturday, though, was the fact they didn't seem to take USU for granted. The Aggies, much like UNLV, have never really had success against the Utes in the modern football age and Utah could very well have looked at this game as just another win based on past performance. They did not and while the Aggies aren't as talented as the Rebels, they still could have made this a close game and that wasn't the case. Utah played a decent enough game to stay out in front of the Aggies for most of the day and then held off a mini-run at the end when things got a bit ugly (read above). This was the perfect bounce back game for Utah, but with Louisville this Friday, I'm not so sure this game gets things rolling.
Ultimately, with the conditions of the weather (cold, rain, snow, a bit more rain and even more snow), the fact Utah doesn't appear to be a great team and that Brian Johnson played his first full game in nearly two years, I think it went fairly well. Could it have been better? It always can me, but after last Saturday's shutout at UNLV, 34 points doesn't look too bad to me.
Hopefully the Utes can build on this win, go out and upset Louisville (it's doable, just depends on what Utah team shows up) and they roll the rest of the way. It's not likely, but I thought it was unlikely UNLV could beat Utah, let alone shut them out.