No. 11 Utah rolls to 3-0 start after 31-0 thrashing of Idaho State

This game was over shortly after it began. Utah looked the part of a top-10 team on Saturday afternoon against FCS foe Idaho State. Utah completely overwhelmed ISU and hit them from every possible angle. The Utes scored on every drive in th first half but one, where they fumbled on the 1 yard line going in for a potential touchdown. Utah opened up the scoring after an incredible 40 yard run by Zack Moss to setup a short field where they got Jadon Redding a 35 yard field goal that he knocked through without a problem. It was nice to see the Utes give the kicking game a field goal to give them a good feeling in that phase. From there, it was all touchdowns for the Utes. Zack Moss rolled into the end zone after another couple of big runs, and he capped it off wit ha 1 yard touchdown where he ran a dude over. The next possession Huntley hit Bryan Thompson for a monster deep ball for an 82 yard touchdown pass. Next, he hit Brant Kuithe for a 60 yard pass, where the big tight end showed some shake in the open field. Utah took a 24-0 lead into the half, and came out of the locker room to drive the ball back down the field and take a 31-0 lead on a Huntley to Thompson 23 yard touchdown pass.

From that point on, it was basically a running clock as the Utes sat most of their starters for a majority of the second half, which is was I think we all wanted to see. Utah’s stat sheet was very impressive on the day, with 543 yards of total offense, with 320 coming through the air and 223 on the ground. Moss had 106 yards on just 10 carries, as he made his presence felt early, but not often with just those 10 carries. Huntley uncorked his arm today with 282 yards on his always efficient 15 of 19 from the pocket. Thompson eclipse 100 yards with his two catches with 105 total receiving yards. The defense not only pitched the shut out, but they held ISU under 100 total yards on the game until late in the fourth quarter, they ended up giving up just 113 yards on the game, which is quite an accomplishment.

With the dominant win, there are still some things to clean up. The offensive line needs to continue to gel, as the backs were getting hit in the backfield a bit too much for my liking. Also, over 100 yards in penalties is ridiculous, and I have no doubt that will be talked about all week by the coaches. They need to play smart, especially going into USC week.

Speaking of which, the Utes will travel to Southern California next Friday to take on a reeling USC team that lost in Provo today, in overtime. Kalani Sitake may have given the Utes some good film to attack USC this coming week, because Utah needs to beat USC to get where they want to go.

It’s time for some real games, let’s go.