Reasons Utah will win Saturday:
1. We have an outstanding defense and are deep at every level. I don’t think we’ve ever had a defense this deep with talent at every position. We’ve always had great player makers but we’ve always been in danger of a starter getting injured and our defense taking a huge step back. The defensive line, linebackers and secondary all have backups that could step in and the Utes not miss a beat. Francis Bernard is essentially the 4th best linebacker right now and I have confidence he could start and do well. The Utes have also been able to stay without any major injuries. For obvious reasons, the Utes have played better at the beginning of the season when they are the healthiest. We are catching Washington at the perfect time for us.
2. Britain Covey looks like the best slot receiver we’ve had since joining the PAC-12, maybe ever, and I expect he’ll only get better as the season goes on. He dependable catching the ball, which Utah needs, and is always a threat to take it all the way to the house.
3. Tyler Huntley. He took a lot of flak for the offense’s poor performance. However, as the week went on and more information has come out and people have had time to dissect the game a little more, it has been apparent that he wasn’t the issue. He completed 65% of his passes and passed for nearly 300 yards (would have been 300 with 6 WR drops). Another thing that has been overlooked is how good Utah has been on obvious passing downs (2nd, 3rd and long). I think we see Huntley extend a lot of drives on 3rd down with his arms and legs. Washington has struggled to get off the field on third down this season.
4. We have the best kicker and punter combo in the nation. They haven’t been great this year, but they are still the same players of the last two years. I still have a lot of confidence in both of these players. If we get into a defensive battle, I think they give us the edge.
5. We’re home and its a night game. Rice-Eccles, at night, has been a nightmare for opposing teams. It seems like since joining the PAC-12 the Utes have had pretty good luck in their blackout games or night games against big opponents. The past two USC games and the Cal gameday games come to mind here. The team seems ultra focused and juiced for this game.
6. Washington will struggle to take advantage of Utah’s biggest weakness. We’ve struggled with pass protection and gave up a lot of sacks to NIU, but Washington’s pass rush has been inadequate so far and struggled to pressure the QB. The only way they’ve been able to consistently generate pressure is to send an extra rusher from the secondary. I think Utah can take advantage of this with the short passing game that Taylor favors. As mentioned above, look for Huntley to extend a lot of drives with his legs and arm.
7. I think Zach Moss can have a good game against Washington’s defense. They gave up a lot yards against North Dakota. Santiago rushed 18 times for 139 yards. From what I’ve read, the UW linebacker depth is questionable and if Utah can get their ground game going then we might be able to grind out a win. At the very least, keep it respectable to help open passing lanes.
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