Grading out the win over BYU

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Utes continue to show a lot of potential and ability on both sides of the ball. The competition against BYU was a mixed one, with their offense being terrible, but having a solid defense. Here’s how I grade out the performances for the team:

Offense: B-

With Tyler Huntley at the helm, and a very good wide out corps, led by Darren Carrington, this is an exciting offense, but it still has some issues. Against BYU, penalties continued to be an issue. Probably about 30 yards of them were bogus, but the team needs to clean some things up, namely the holding penalties on the outside. I’m not too concerned about the run game with the running backs, because I have a lot of faith in Zack Moss. I think he’s a really good back, it’ll just take some time to get a good flow with the new o-line and Huntley. One thing that needs address is the low snaps. They threw off timing on a lot of plays, and something that needs to improve going forward. I also think red zone TD conversions will improve as Huntley gets more experience. He missed a couple of chances (and a bad OPI call wiped one off).

Defense: A

I thought about where I could ding the defense, but I couldn’t think of anything. They only really allowed one drive for a TD, where the other was due to a short field because of a fumble. They had three takeaways, all three being picks, and should have had a fumble recovery, but the officials overturned it. The Utes also added three sacks in the game, and were harassing Mangum all game long from so many different angles. A lot of names really jumped out in this effort, such as: Fitts, Lotulelei, Mokofisi, Anae, Hobbs, Johnson, Hughes, and Hansen. I know I’m forgetting others, but so many guys made nice plays in this game.

Special Teams: A-

Perfection in the kicking game by Matt Gay, going 4/4 and hitting from multiple spots of the field. Boobie Hobbs had some nice returns, and seems to have put some of those scary returns behind him. Mitch Wishnowsky was money, and almost had the most incredible punt ever, when it was millimeters from checking up just shy of the goal line. He also saved a would be TD on a kick return, but showed his athleticism by taking down Jonah Trinnaman on the sideline. That reason, with the loss of contain, and the bobbled return to the open game is the reason I’m knocking them down a hair.

How would you grade out the game?