633 yards to kick off the season
Utah crushed Idaho 66-14 in its opener. The Utes racked up 633 yards and scored nine touchdowns.
The numbers tell the story. Utah put up 269 yards through the air and 364 on the ground. Idaho finished with just 225 yards in total. On first downs alone, the Utes averaged 8.6 yards per snap.
Ranked No. 20 nationally, they host Arkansas on Saturday in Salt Lake City. Kickoff will be late.
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An offense nobody can pin down
Ten different players carried the ball. Eight caught a pass. Morgan Scalley says that was the real reason the night went so smoothly.
“I think the biggest thing was how many guys were involved in the offense,” said Utah’s coach. “That makes it hard when you’re putting together a game plan for an offense. Who are their guys? Who do you key on? And when that many people touch the ball, it gets complicated.”
The offensive line held up too. Utah replaced all five starters from last season and didn’t allow a sack in 60 minutes. Even so, Scalley wants quarterback Devon Dampier spending less time on the turf. “We had good rotation at guard. The guys got quality reps. We’ll settle on a starting five this week, and hopefully they can hold it together for the whole game.”
Arkansas controls the clock but not the scoreboard
The Razorbacks arrive at 1-0 with a very different formula. Arkansas beat North Alabama 31-14 while holding the ball for 41 minutes and 27 seconds. The defense did the heavy lifting. The offense, not so much: 148 rushing yards at 3.0 yards per carry.
Ryan Silverfield isn’t sugar-coating it. “You’re up against a strong Utah defense, so you’ve got to be creative. You’ve got to find ways to run the ball efficiently. I’ve been doing this a long time, 28 years, and there have been weeks when the run game got off to a slow start. The next week, it’s a different story.”
It’s the first meeting between the two programs. Utah is hosting a SEC team for the second time in four seasons. The first went its way: a 24-11 win over Florida to open the 2023 season.
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