Positive & Negative Takes from Ute’s victory over Stanford

Positive and negative takeaways from Utah's dominant victory over Stanford.

Saturday night under the lights for the final time this season, and for 17 Utah players, potentially their last game ever, as we celebrated Senior and Military Appreciation night at Rice Eccles Stadium. 

Utah came into the matchup expecting a big win and they took care of business despite an underwhelming slow start. With a banged-up team full of injuries Utah, was able to show off depth in various offensive and defensive positions throughout the night. 

While the Cardinals did strike first, they were were shut out the rest of the night as the Utes only seemed to get stronger and stronger as the contest wore on. 

Negative - First Quarter Offense

First quarters have not been the most efficient for Utah this season and the Utes got off to a rocky start. Although they avoided a three-and-out for the 10th game this season (thanks to punter Bouwmeester rushing on fourth down for 14 yards), the offense provided very little to shout about reaching only as far as Stanford’s 38-yard line.

Positive - Tavion Thomas

Utah Utes quarterback Cameron Rising (7) and running back Tavion Thomas (9) react to a win against the Stanford Cardinal at Rice-Eccles Stadium / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Utah has been missing Thomas in recent weeks but whatever has been ailing him, whether injury or discipline, seems to have been put to rest. 

The run game went through Thomas who registered 22 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns. By contrast, Stanford had 177 all-purpose yards and only one touchdown. A terrific performance for Thomas in his final appearance in Salt Lake City. 

With Thomas’ time off through the season, he may be the better healthier option at running back as the season winds down.

Thomas said post-game “I’m just so happy to be out there with my teammates”. Speaking on his personal issues in recent weeks, Thomas said “It’s been challenging. You can’t run from it, you’ve got to attack it… I got these great [teammates] right here, great support system here. They got me back slowly but surely… I’m ready to get back with these guys and finish this whole season out”. 

Positive - Senior Night

It seemed like the ball was being given to all of the seniors. Granted, there were 17 of them, but all the scoring plays were converted by seniors:

Devaughn Vele - A relatively quiet second half for Vele, but six catches on nine targets for 61 yards and a touchdown. A long of 28 yards set Utah in great field position for Tavion Thomas’ first touchdown of the night.

Tavion Thomas - A four-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter and an explosive 36-yard rushing touchdown for the only score in the fourth.

Thomas Yassmin - His only target and reception of the night for the man from down under. Yassmin shook his blocker, drove through a tackle on the sideline, and dove into the end zone. Brilliant athletic play to kickstart the 21-point third quarter for Utah.

Micah Bernard - Part of a banged-up running core, Bernard performed best as a receiver on the night. Three receptions on five targets for 57 yards including a 19-yard catch and run dodging a tackle on his way to the end zone.

Logan Kendall - The Idaho transfer who has seen action in all 10 games made his first reception of the season for a touchdown from freshman quarterback Nate Johnson who threw his first career pass for a touchdown. 

The play was under review for just how close Kendall was to stepping out of bounds. When the touchdown was confirmed the sideline players went wild for Kendall. “Anytime you can get the rhino going downhill, get him in open space like that… he’s going to make a play,” said Cam Rising.

Positive - Defense

With minimal defensive errors on display, this defense looks much better under Coach Scalley as of late. “Defense has got some momentum right now… tonight was one of the best of the season… We’re fairly healthy on the defensive side of the ball. Very few mental mistakes, very few missed tackles and that’s how you play great defense,” Coach Whittingham said.

Redshirt freshman Simote Pepa had his performance of the season, leading the defense with six total tackles (two solo, three for loss) and registering his first two career sacks. Coach Whittingham said, “He’s really turning into a good football player. He was built too heavy… in years past. He has much more quickness now, much more stamina… he’s got a lot more football ahead of him”.

Jonah Elliss spoke on the defense’s improvement in recent weeks saying, “Earlier in the season a lot of the mistakes that were happening were guys were trying to make the big play, not doing their assignment. The last few weeks we’ve really just honed in and do your assignment and the plays will come to you.”

Positive - Quarterbacks 

Utah Utes quarterback Nate Johnson (13) celebrates a touchdown against the Arizona Wildcats in the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

We got to see Nate Johnson for the second week running, only this time, we caught a glimpse of what he is able to do through the air rather than just his feet. Rolling out to the right, he threw the ball back across the field to Logan Kendall for the touchdown. 

While Johnson can play four games without using up his redshirt, I doubt we’ll see him play against Oregon, but hopefully, we can see him again in the season finale in Colorado.

Starter Cam Rising said of Johnson, “He’s phenomenal. He does a great job with the ball in his hands, makes smart decisions, and just has a good head on his shoulders, especially for a freshman. It’s impressive to see.”

Cam Rising is on this list almost every week. Not the best, but a good performance from Cam (20-33, 219 yards, 3 TD, INT). 

Cam does believe this is his final game at Rice Eccles Stadium as revealed by him post-game. Final decisions have not been made according to Coach Whittingham, but he also believes Cam is ready to leave.

A dominant Utes performance saw off the Stanford Cardinals 42-7. The Oregon Ducks lost spectacularly 34-31 to Washington. Championship hopefuls UCLA also lost to Arizona in an upset at the Rose Bowl. 

Utah faces Oregon on November 19th in Eugene. A win would all but guarantee Utah the coveted opportunity to defend their PAC-12 Championship.

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