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What (and Who) To Expect When You're Expecting: Utah

Utah comes into Memorial Stadium Saturday undefeated and ranked, much like last year's game. Utah, the 18th ranked team in the country, hasn't played in Berkeley since 2000 due to construction and scheduling quirks. The then Tom Holmoe led Bears defeated the Utes 24-21 in that matchup, and Cal defeated the Utes 34-10 when they came to San Francisco in 2011.

Utah has won the two previous matchups in Utah, including a 30-24 victory last season after Jared Goff threw five interceptions and had a fourth and five pass batted down with 31 seconds to go. Utah returns a number of defensive players from that team, helping to propel them to key victories over BYU and USC. The offense has a few new pieces to look at though, with Travis Wilson, Devontae Booker, and Kaelin Clay gone among others.

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There's a lot of similarities between Utah and Arizona State on the offensive end. A running quarterback, a solid stable of running backs, a veteran offensive line, and a couple big receivers as targets

Notable Offensive Personnel:

Troy Williams comes to Utah, taking the JC route after transferring from Washington, spending a year on the mean streets of Santa Monica before coming to Utah to replace Travis Wilson. Williams can be hit and miss as a thrower. During a two play sequence against USC, Williams threw a curl about 3 yards to the left of his receiver, then came back to hit Tim Patrick 40 yards downfield on a post in between two defensive backs. He's got the arm strength to make deep throws. He's also a more capable runner than Wilson. Or he just doesn't look like a giraffe on roller skates when running like Wilson did. Either way, he's confident enough to pull the ball and take it on read option plays.

Utah is now led by a trio of running backs in Zack Moss, Troy McCormick, and Armand Shyne. Joe Williams was initially the starter, but he medically retired two games into the season, opening the way for this triumvirate. Moss, the true freshman from Hialeah Gardens, Florida, is the defacto starter, starting the last two games for the Utes and getting the most reps of the triumvirate. At 5'10" and 213 lbs, he's more of a load than McCormick, who is a shiftier back. Shyne continues the pipeline of running backs from American River College, where Devontae Booker came from. He's a similar runner to Demario Richard on Arizona State

The wide receiver group is led by Tim Patrick, a 6'5" receiver on the outside who leads the team in receptions and yards. Patrick has 20 receptions on the year, with 385 yards and 5 TDs so far. Considering that Troy Williams has only thrown 6 TDs, Patrick is a safety blanket for Williams. He also caught the game winner against USC. Corey Butler-Byrd and Raelon Singleton are the other starters, with Evan Moeai and Harris Handley providing blocking from the tight end spots, with 11 receptions combined over 4 games.

The starting offensive line is filled with upperclassmen, and they currently lead the Pac-12 in fewest sacks allowed per game. Isaac Asiata has the most starts over his career, with 34 over 4 years. JJ Dielman returns from his 2nd-team All Pac-12 selection at tackle to play center for the Utes. Garrett Bolles, Salesi Uhatafe and Sam Tevi hold down the other three spots for the Utes offense, which averages 173.5 rushing yards per game.


Cal vs. Utah Stat Comparison
Cal Utah

Points per game

45.5

27.2

Total Offense per Game

594.5

427.8

Yards per Play

6.7

5.9

Passing Yards per Game

459.2

254.2

Yards per Attempt

8.4

8.1

Rushing Yards per Game

135.2

173.5

Yards per Attempt

4.0

4.3

Points Allowed Per Game

42.5

15.8

Total Defense per Game

492.0

314.2

Yards per Play Allowed

6.3

5.1

Passing Yards Allowed per Game

228.5

182.2

Yards per Attempt Allowed

7.3

5.9

Rushing Yards Allowed per Game

263.5

132.0

Yards per Attempt Allowed

5.7

4.3

Defense:

With Kylie Fitts and potentially Lowell Lotuleilei out, Utah will have to find production from other linemen, specifically Lotuleilei's backup Pasoni Tasini. Utah allowed 3.5 yards per carry over their first three games before allowing 6.5 to USC without the younger brother of Star Lotuleilei clogging the middle. That being said, the Utes have defensive end Hunter Dimick to produce for them, as he leads the Pac-12 in sacks and tackles for loss. Filipo Mokofisi is also someone to watch for, as the Utes trust their line to provide pressure without sending six men on a rush. They will rush 5 often though. This is a group that heavily contributed to a 10 sack game against San Jose State.

Returning defensive backs Marcus Williams, Justin Thomas, and Dominique Hatfield all had interceptions against Jared Goff a season ago. Williams has a couple of interceptions this year, as does cornerback Reggie Porter. Chase Hansen, the starting strong safety, played quarterback last season for Utah, not unlike Luke Rubenzer. Hatfield just came back from an injury, where corner Brian Allen played in his stead.

At linebacker, Utah will have Sunia Tauteoli and Cody Barton, along with JC transfer Kavika Luafatasaga seeing a good amount of time. Tauteoli, a first year starter, is a threat dropping into coverage, with two interceptions of his own to go with a couple of tackles for loss. Barton is a first time starter as well, with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.

Specialists:

Utah has two of the top specialists in the conference in Andy Phillips and Mitch Wishnowsky. Phillips, who has been at Utah for 20 years or so, is a three time Groza Award semifinalist and two-time all Pac-12 selection, and is Utah's career leader in field goals made and attempted, as well as points scored.

Wishnowsky, a JC transfer from Australia, leads the country in punting average and leads the conference in punts of 50+ yards. He hit all three of his punts against USC inside the 20, with two inside the ten.

Utah has a lot of veteran pieces, and Kyle Whittingham will be looking for his 100th career win on Saturday.

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