The Utah vs. BYU rivalry is one of the greatest in college sports and has extra hype surrounding this year’s game after the Utes orchestrated an epic comeback in 2018. In the first half, BYU’s offense and defense were in control, but late in the 3rd quarter the Utah offense came to life scoring 28 points in the final 16 minutes of the game, concluding the Utes’ 8th straight victory in the rivalry. This year, Utah’s offense is anxious to control the narrative against a stingy BYU defense.

Utah QB Jason Shelley outruns BYU DB Dayan Ghanwoloku for game-clinching touchdown during the Utes' 35-27 win over the Cougars on Senior Day 2018.

Utah’s Offense

Last year, Utah’s offense made great strides finishing 4th in the Pac-12 in scoring offense during the conference regular season, while finishing 2nd in red zone offensive efficiency, and were arguably the best team in the league at generating big plays. The Utes bring back almost all of their 2018 offensive production and look to build off a 7-1 close to the regular season where they averaged 35 points per game and scored less than 30 points only once during that stretch.

Passing Attack

Once Utah made a fundamental offensive shift heading into week 5, quarterback Tyler Huntley and the offense noticeably improved. Over a 5-game stretch against Pac-12 opponents beginning in October, Huntley completely 70% of his passes, with an average rating of 156.44, before he went down with a season-ending injury. Even with backup Jason Shelley at the helm, who started 5 games last year, the Utah passing attack expects to be particularly effective on shorter and deep routes and showed improvement between hashes last year. Redshirt freshman Jaylen Dixon emerged as an elite deep threat finishing at the top of the conference in long receptions and averaged 18.41 yards per catch. Britain Covey was the prime possession receiver with 60 catches, and Samson Nacua became a focal point in the red zone leading the team with 5 receiving touchdowns. The Utes also had increased production from the tight end position last year, where the pair of freshmen tight ends, Cole Fotheringham and Brant Kuithe, combined for 37 catches and 417 yards.

Rushing Offense

The rushing attack is led by senior running back Zack Moss who put up 1,096 yards and 11 touchdowns, on a phenomenal 6.12 yards per carry in just 9 games before going down with an injury. Moss is backed up by a talented stable of running backs that should also provide quality production. This year, the Utes are expected to focus even more on the running game with new offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig at the helm. Last year, Utah was equally effective attacking the center of the line and the edges with the running backs averaging over 5 yards per carry as a group.

Utah Question Marks

The Utes had arguably their best offensive performance since joining the Pac-12. However, they did struggle against the Washington and Northwestern defenses who could match Utah’s physicality and were particularly disciplined. The kicking game is a concern for Utah with the departure of Matt Gay. In 2018, field goals accounted for nearly 20% of the Utes’ points and it’s unlikely that Utah’s next kicker will be as reliable. Heading into the matchup against BYU, the health conditions of Moss and Covey are questionable.

BYU’s Defense

The Cougars’ defense last year was stout finishing 33rd in the S&P+ ratings, and found a rhythm with a “bend, don’t break” zone scheme. BYU’s defense was above average against P5 opponents surrendering 27 points per game and was the 8th best team in the country at preventing big plays, giving up only 10 plays per game greater than 10-yards.

Rush Defense

BYU’s run defense starts with their defensive line which has great size and is anchored by junior defensive tackle Khyiris Tonga who eats up space and limits opposing backs who try to attack up the middle. He’ll have support from linebackers Isaiah Kaufusi and Zayne Anderson who are strong tacklers but only Kaufusi has shown an aptitude for havoc plays with 6 tackles for loss last year. Despite having quality tacklers, getting into the backfield was a major problem for the Cougar defense last year, ranking 119th in the country at just 4.5 TFL per game, and against P5 opponents that number dipped to just 3 per game. This is an even bigger issue heading into 2019, with BYU losing nearly 50% of their TFL production to graduating seniors, including their top 2 defensive players Corbin Kaufusi and Sione Takitaki. While the Cougars were very good at preventing big plays, they gave up a mediocre 4.5 yards per carry against P5 opponents.

Pass Defense

In 2018, BYU found success with a cover 3 zone defense that kept plays in front of them and made their pass coverage formidable. Against P5 opponents, the Cougars allowed a 132-passer rating which is fairly average, but they were top 30 in the country in yards per attempt allowed, and only surrendered 1 passing touchdown per game. Despite limiting yardage efficiency, they did allow a 67% completion rate against P5 quarterbacks which was one of the worst rates in the nation. The secondary coverage is led by senior free safety Austin Lee who was #1 on the team with 2 interceptions, and versatile senior cornerback Dayan Ghanwoloku. Last year’s cornerbacks were solid at playing disciplined, but they didn’t produce any interceptions and this year’s group is more limited in experience. Impact plays are also a concern for BYU’s pass rush. They lost their top 2 producers and were already poor at getting to the quarterback, generating only 1 sack per game against P5 offenses.

BYU Question Marks

Playmaking looks to be a significant issue in 2019 for a Cougar defensive unit that struggled mightily last year to generate impact plays, and they face a tougher task to do so this year after losing such a large portion of their havoc play production. Tonga and I. Kaufusi are standout players, but the defensive end spots were both up for contention in fall camp and the returning production on the edges is limited. It’s worth noting that BYU’s top pass rusher heading into this season only had 2.5 sacks last year. The secondary also faces impact play challenges and will likely be without top cover corner Chris Wilcox. Among the cornerbacks expected to contribute this year, none produced a pass break-up last year besides Ghanwoloku, who had just 2.

How Utah’s Offense Wins the Matchup

BYU’s defense frustrated opponents last year by limiting chunk plays and essentially waiting them out. The kinds of plays the Cougar defense allows aligns well with Utah’s strengths, but the Utes will need to be patient. In last year’s matchup, Utah turned the corner offensively when they started taking the plays BYU’s defense was giving them under the zone and built methodical drives by stringing together successful shorter yardage plays. Prior to Utah’s final scoring drive, their 3 previous touchdown drives totaled 31 plays and 190 yards, with the longest play only being 11 yards. Looking forward to August 29th, Huntley should be successful as one of the most accurate passers in the country against a defense that allows a high rate of completions, particularly in short yardage, and those passes will be there, but he’ll need to fight the urge to go for the big play when something shorter and easier is available. He should have ample time in the pocket as well against the Cougars’ limited pass rush. In the run game, because BYU struggles to get into the backfield, Utah should expect at least moderate success attacking the edges and challenging BYU’s defensive ends. In last year’s rivalry game, Utah’s rushing attack averaged nearly 4.5 yards per carry and produced 3 touchdowns, but it wasn’t until the Utes started attacking the B and C gaps that they had real success. If Utah is going to extend their win streak to 9 games against BYU, they’ll have to apply the lessons they learned against the Cougars last season and methodically attack and wear down the BYU defense with productive 4-7 yard plays, that should ultimately open up bigger gains as the game progresses.

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