Utah Led To Victory By College Football's Next Two-Way Star Sione Vaki

With injuries all over the place, Utah got creative coming out of the bye week

After having this past week off, the No. 16 Utah Utes welcomed Cal to town for their Week 7 matchup.

For the Utes, it wa their sixth-straight game without starting quarterback Cam Rising, and also star tight end Brant Kuithe. Both of whom have been out with knee injuries, and have not had a timetable provided for their return, which has caused quite the controversy and confusion in Salt Lake City. 

On Saturday, it was Brsyon Barnes at the helm again who was able to make a quick recovery after being hospitalized after a hit he took in the loss to Oregon State. While Barnes was having a bit more success passing the ball than Nate Johnson was having in his past couple of starts, the game's hero was a running back that most didn't know would be at running back in Sione Vaki.

The safety-turned-running back took snaps out of the wildcat, and also took some carries off the hands of Ja'Quinden Jackson who was returning from injury. Vaki rushed for two touchdowns on the day, one from a yard out and the other from 72 yards out.

He finished the day with 15 rushes for 158 yards and two scores, on 10.5 yards per carry, while Jackson added 94 yards and a score of his own. The Utah defense was performing as they usually do, holding Cal to just 66 yards rushing with star running back Jadyn Ott only accumulating 46 yards rushing. They did get a couple of touchdowns, but after the second quarter, Utah built a double-digit lead and never looked back.

The Utes advance to 5-1 on the year, and will have their biggest test yet against USC this next week. The Trojans were blown out by Notre Dame on Saturday, and cannot afford to lose again if they have any chance of making the playoff. As for Utah they cannot afford to lose again, as it would likely eliminate their chances of making it to the Pac-12 title game and the playoff. Every game from here on out could derail what Utah fans were hoping would be their best season yet.