Keys To Victory For No. 12 Utah Football Against Utah State

Sep 11, 2024, 4:33 PM | Updated: 8:28 pm

Utah Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – Week three is here for the No. 12-ranked Utah Football program! The Utes are hitting the road and traveling north to Logan to take on the Utah State Aggies.

The Battle of the Brothers is renewed for the first time since 2015. The game is set for a 2:30 pm MT kick-off from Merlin Olson Field at Maverik Stadium.

Saturday will mark the 108th meeting between Utah and Utah State, but the first matchup between the Utes and the Aggies in nearly a decade. The last meeting in 2015 finished in favor of Utah, a 24-14 home win. The Aggies have only one win in the series in the last 26 years. That win actually happened the last time the game was played in Logan in 2012, a 27-20 victory in overtime.

Game Info

TV: CBS Sports Network

Rado: AM 700

Records: No. 12 Utah (2-0); Utah State (1-1)

Last Week: Utah def. Baylor, 23-12; Utah State lost to USC, 48-0

Series History: Utah leads 79-29-4

.@ctb_mb had himself a day last Saturday🔥

3rd career game with 100+ yards
123 all purpose yards
6.3 yds/ rushpic.twitter.com/FtyKm0Drsm

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 10, 2024

Getting off to a good start is important to the 2024 season and improving to 3-0 is vital to that start. Here are the keys to Utah’s matchup against the Utah State Aggies.

Take away primary/first-read for Utah State passing game

That’s a long-winded way of saying take away Jalen Royals, who is a fantastic playmaker for the Aggies. The 6-foot, 205-pound Royals enjoyed a 71-reception 1,080-yard, and 15-touchdown campaign last season. He is the the playmaker in the Aggies passing game.

The Aggies are a spread offense that is primarily an 11-personnel offense. There are multiple receivers on the field but more notably, 11 different players that have notched a reception.

However, Royals (19) has nearly three times as many targets as the second-most targeted pass catcher (7) on the squad. He has produced and he is the focal point of the passing game. One of the biggest priorities this weekend has to be limiting his opportunities and clean looks.

Utah knows all too well that if you take away this quarterback’s first read, more often than not it will lead to hesitancy in the pocket. With the way Connor O’Toole and Van Fillinger have rushed the passer through two games, it should bode well for those two this weekend.

Utah is currently sitting on the No. 9 ranked sack rate in the country at 14.5%, which is well above the 5.4% sack rate average so far this season. It may also lead to mistakes by the quarterback and that could lead to turnovers for the defense, which is something Whittingham wants to see more of from this unit.

Utilizing the quarterback’s best friend

The old cliche in football is that the tight end is a quarterback’s best friend. After only seeing minimal work last week, Utah’s tight ends could serve as big difference-makers in this one.

To start, Utah State cornerback Avante Dickerson has been impressive through two games. He’s allowed just 3 receptions on 7 targets in coverage for a total of -5 yards. As much as Utah needs to get the receiver position going, the former Oregon Ducks player has some ability at cornerback.

However, the top three most targeted defenders on the Aggies defense are safety Torren Union (10-of-13 targets allowed for reception for 79 yards), safety Ike Larsen (7-of-11 targets allowed for reception for 55 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception), and linebacker Jon Ross May (7-of-7 targets allowed for reception for 88 yards). That’s two safeties and a linebacker, the two position groups that are most often matched up against tight ends.

Through two games against Robert Morris and USC, the Aggies have allowed 15 receptions out of 18 targets for 186 yards and one touchdown to tight ends. Far and away the position group that has rewarded their quarterbacks the most. Against the Aggies defense, tight ends have generated a 128.2 QB rating, while running backs own a 92.1 rating and receivers an 85.8 rating.

Utah needs to get the passing game going a little more and the tight ends appear to have a matchup that could allow them to be a big part of that.

Bring the energy, the physicality, the execution

Utah got more out of the offensive line in the run game in week two. However, coach Whittingham still wants more out of the run game, as the Utes were only able to generate a success rate of 42.9% on 35 run plays last week.

Utah State allowed the USC Trojans to run for 249 yards last week, which included a success rate of 67.6% on 37 run plays.

The offensive line was able to generate more push at the initial level, however, coach Jim Harding wants his group to execute better at the second and third levels. That would really benefit the run game, as the offensive line has generated 228 total line yards but only 75 total second-level yards.

Pass protection will also be important. Utah’s offensive line has only allowed 13 pressure in 60 pass plays, which is solid but there is room for improvement. Utah State hasn’t shown the ability to get after the quarterback at a high rate but Utah has to keep them in check this week.

The Aggies do not blitz as much as others. Through two games, the Aggies have blitzed on 26.9% of pass plays, 17 of 63 plays to be exact. They’ve only generated 6 pressures in those 17 blitz plays. In fact, They’ve only generated pressure on 17 of 63 pass plays, which included only 1 in 30 pass plays against the Trojans last week.

The offensive line needs to set the tone this week for the offense. It will be up to them to bring the energy, the physicality, and the execution. This group showed good progress from week one to week two and bringing those three dynamics will be an encouraging sign for the group.