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College Football: Utah Utes 2016 Mid-Season Review

By James Buckley

Sep 10, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes celebrated their fortieth straight sellout at Rice-Eccles Stadium Brigham Young Cougars. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2016; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes celebrated their fortieth straight sellout at Rice-Eccles Stadium Brigham Young Cougars. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Game 6: Arizona Wildcats @ #24 Utah Utes

Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /

There were questions everywhere coming into this game. Who would start at QB for Arizona? How would the Utes handle a team who had their number the last few years? How would the Utes bounce back from their first loss of the season?

Quick Recap:

Once again, the Utes defense started slowly, allowing a 75-yard touchdown pass from QB Brandon Dawkins on the first play from scrimmage.

After a Andy Phillips field goal, Dawkins found the endzone again to give Arizona a 14-3 lead with 8 minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter. Another game, another deficit for the Utes to climb out of.

The Utes started to get back on track when the defense forced a safety in the Wildcats endzone. This was immediately followed by a Williams TD pass to Tyrone Smith to close the half.

Apparently going into halftime with a 14-12 score instead of 14-3 makes a difference, because the 3rd quarter belonged to Utah. The Utes got two touchdowns on the board thanks to run-ins from Troy Williams and Armand Shyne.

After yet another Phillips field goal, the Utes were suddenly in control 29-14. The 4th provided little drama, as the outcome was never in doubt.

An Arizona field goal was followed by another Troy Williams rushing touchdown, moving the score to 36-17. A touchdown pass from backup QB Khalil Tate provided a late spark, but after a failed two point conversion the scoring and the game were basically finished.

Result: Utah triumphs 36-23 (5-1, 2-1 Conf)

What it meant:

Continuing on with the trend, it took about a quarter and a half for this team to wake itself up to play the way we know they can. When the offense and defense are clicking at the same time, this team has the potential to be one of the best in the country.

This team has said all year that they have high hopes and expectations for themselves. They’ve shown in flashes both the skill and potential to be a contender, but the inconsistency drags them down far too often.

Moving up to #21 after this game, the Utes are slowly but surely getting better and working out a few kinks along the way. Once they put together a complete game, for 60 minutes straight, my faith in them will skyrocket.

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