If you were in town this weekend, then you know that this game had to prove to everyone else that Utah was not going to let the loss against Cal, bring us down. Arizona was not going to be a challenge, and that the Utes were going to rise victorious by several points. So if you were in the stands this weekend, you know how nerve-wrecking it was to watch the Utes play the first half. If you didn’t know, Utah was infamous for the yellow flags and the false starts during Saturday’s game.
Let’s break down the quarters.
First Quarter
The Arizona Wildcats threw the ball into the end zone for a completed pass, giving the Wildcats a 7-0 start with only 11 seconds into the game.
The Utes struggled to get any completed plays that would get them into the end zone, so Automatic Andy was sent in, and he was able to put up 3 points on the board, giving a score of 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
During the second quarter, Arizona showed to still be ahead of our defense, as they put up another touchdown, half way through the quarter. Giving them the biggest lead of the first half at 14-3.
The Utes managed to score two points in the second quarter, because of the safety that was called, giving the Utes a score of 5 against the Wildcats 14.
With only 55 seconds left in the first half, Williams threw the ball to Smith, for a completed pass in the end zone, and with Automatic Andy going in for the kick, the Utes added 7 points to the scoreboard, landing them at 12-14, going into halftime.
If you were watching the game, then you were able to see all of those yellow flags being thrown during the first half, what were they for you may ask? False Starts. A false start is when a player from the offense, makes any movement or changes prior to the ball being snapped to the quarterback. So anytime the O-line was moving, a flag was thrown and five yards are added to the total of yards needed to get the first down. Utah was paying more attention to the shifts that the defense was making, and not enough attention to the stability that it needed to get the first downs that it needed. Utah had a total of 8 false starts in the first half, if you do the math, that is a total of 45 yards that were added to the Utah offense in the first half alone.
I could only imagine the amount of frustration that coach Whittingham must have had in that locker room during halftime, but whatever was said or done, must have worked, because the Utes came back ready to take on the Wildcats stronger in the second half.
Third Quarter
In the third quarter, the Wildcats seemed to have given up, because no points were added by Arizona. The Utes had two touchdowns in the third quarter, and a field goal by Automatic Andy, putting the score at 14-29.
Fourth Quarter
By this time, half of Rice-Eccles, seemed to be ready to pack up, because Utah was ahead, and Arizona’s offense, was nowhere to be found.
Arizona was able to kick in a field goal to add 3 points to their score: 17-29.
Shortly after, Utah’s Quarterback, Troy Williams ran the ball into the end zone, and Andy Phillips kicked the ball in, putting the new score at 17-36
Arizona’s last attempt for a comeback, somewhat worked, because with only 4 minutes left, the Wildcats were able to add 6 points onto their score, but when they went to get the two-point conversion, the Wildcat’s fell short and were only able to put up a total of 23 points, against our Utes 36.
Even with the win this weekend, the Utes suffered a major loss, when our top running back, suffered a season ending injury on Saturday. The Utes have now lost 5 starting player to injuries, but are hopeful against this week’s opponent, the Oregon State Beavers.
If you are a part of the MUSS, and haven’t already bought your spot on this year’s MUSS BUSS, there may still be time. The MUSS will be heading to UCLA next week, and will be preparing to face the number one team in the PAC-12/ number 5 team in the AP rankings, Washington.
And in case you needed more of a reason to be a proud Ute, there are only two teams left in the PAC-12 that made the AP Top 25 rankings this week, and Utah is one of them.