Utah Will Be Down Another Offensive Starter Against No. 9 BYU

Casey Lundquist | Oct 30, 2024

Oct 19, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Money Parks (10) makes a touchdown catch against TCU Horned Frogs cornerback JaTravis Broughton (13) during the third quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

On Tuesday, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham announced that starting wide receiver Money Parks sustained a season-ending injury against Houston. The Utes, who have been the worst offense in the Big 12 in October, will be tasked with finding answers to their offensive woes without one of their top playmakers.

Parks added a home run ability to the Utah offense with his speed. It was Parks that connected with Isaac Wilson for a 71-yard touchdown against TCU - the only touchdown of the game for Utah. Parks has 21 receptions for 294 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2024.

Parks has been one of the four primary weapons for the Utah offense alongside running back Micah Bernard, tight end Brant Kuithe, and wide receiver Dorian Singer.

Utah has been unable to sustain drives over the last two games. Removing a deep threat like Parks limits one of the few things the Utah offense has been able to do: create an occasional explosive play. Utah has scored two touchdowns in the last two games and both of them were 71-yard passing touchdowns - one to Money Parks and one to Brant Kuithe.

Utah also has question marks surrounding the quarterback position. Whittingham announced on on Tuesday that Isaac Wilson and Brandon Rose would split reps at quarterback leading up to the BYU game. Rose replaced Wilson against Houston and was 7/15 for 45 yards and one interception.

The BYU-Utah game has the makings of a defensive battle. The BYU defense is better than the defenses of both TCU and Houston - the two defenses that have stifled the Utah offense over the last two weeks. The Utah defense, meanwhile, has been very solid.