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Another great performance put together by the Utes, in all three phases of the game. Let’s dive in and give out some game balls.
Offense: Tyler Huntley
Yeah, Arizona’s defense is not good, but the Utes took complete advantage of that, and put away the Wildcats early. The first two drives of the game and Utah had two touchdowns on the board, and Huntley remained sharp as he was in the Stanford game. Huntley was 14 of 19 for 201 yards, 2 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown and an incredible receiving touchdown. He was on point all game long, except for one interception where he forced a throw. Huntley also put up 64 yards on the ground and 58 receiving, on that one great trick play. If he keeps up this play, Utah is going to be really tough to beat, with the one-two punch of Zack Moss.
Defense: Chase Hansen
Here’s a solid stat line, 9 tackles, 6 solo, 1 sack and a menace to the Arizona offense all game long. Yeah, Tate was out of the game, but the Utes were flying all over the field and Chase continues his assault on opposing offenses. He has an incredible knack for finding the seems in a defensive line and getting hard pressure on a quarterback. There were a lot of names that jumped out in this game, but Chase continues to be the backbone of the unit, and he was not allowing the Arizona running attack to get up and running.
Special teams: Mitch Wishonowsky
Mitch had probably his best performance of the season against Arizona, while punting 4 times for 193 total yards, averaging 48 per punt, and a long of 55. He also downed 3 of his punts within the 20, and one at about the 5. His highlight play, however, was the fake punt he pulled down on a 4th and long and took off for a 30 yard run to setup Utah’s last score. Of course, it wasn’t a called fake punt, but it was a weakness in Arizona’s punt return that he exploited, with the green light that he always has in those situations. It was fun to watch, and one of the most athletic plays of the game.
Who would you give your game balls to?