Utah falls to Washington 24-21

Started strong and fizzled late, that was the tale of the Utes on Saturday. The loss is disappointing, but there was notable improvements on both sides of the ball, and overall I liked what I saw. The youth of this program feels like they may be further along than I expected.

On offense, while they struggled for stretches, the offensive line played much better during the game. The Utah running game was pretty potent most of the game, and there was some big holes to run through. Jake Bentley was solid in the night, especially in the first half. His turnovers were bad, and that’s something he needs to continue to clean up, but I love his grit and moxie. Overall, the offense was solid, it’s just the turnovers robbed the Utes of some points. If Utah converts two of the drives they were driving on, we may be having a different conversation. Solid week over week improvement on offense, and I’m excited to see this continue.

On defense, it was a nice performance holding UW to 24 points. This defense is showing the ability to take the ball away. Three more interceptions, and the young guys on the backend are doing a very nice job. We just need to see some more sacks by the defensive line, but this has all the makings of a scary defense, once the experience comes. They did struggle containing the tight end, and they did give up some chunks, but they kept UW in check for much of the game.

Who knows how or when the next game will happen, but I’m encouraged by the progress of the team. I would have liked the win, but the improvement was good. Just need to have them hold onto the ball.