Five takeaways: Utah dominates Arkansas 43-10

The Utah Utes got their first real test Saturday night. And they dominated it.

No. 20 Utah beat Arkansas 43-10 inside Rice-Eccles Stadium, moving to 2-0 in Morgan Scalley’s first season.

Utah finished with 442 yards of offense, held Arkansas to just 61 rushing yards, and scored touchdowns on all six red-zone trips.

This one told us a lot more than Idaho did. Here are my takeaways from Saturday night. 

This was the group I wanted to see.

Arkansas brought a much bigger and more physical offensive line than Idaho, and Utah controlled them. The Razorbacks finished with just 61 rushing yards. Jireh Moe was everywhere, finishing with eight tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack.

Karson Kaufusi was disruptive again, too, knocking down two passes at the line and creating problems inside. But it was the entire front.

Utah got pressure from its defensive ends, mixed in some blitzes and never really let KJ Jackson get comfortable.

Once Arkansas realized it could not run the ball, Jackson had to keep throwing.

That played right into Utah’s hands.

The pressure started getting to him, he got out of rhythm, and the offense never recovered. That was a really impressive night from Utah’s front.

I know it has only been two games. But this offense looks really, really good. Kevin McGiven followed up 633 yards and 66 points against Idaho with another 442 yards and 43 points against Arkansas.

That is 1,075 yards and 109 points through two games. The biggest thing for me is how many different looks Utah is throwing at defenses. Multiple quarterbacks. Motion. Parker out of the backfield. Tight ends getting vertical. Quarterback runs.

Arkansas looked lost at times trying to figure out where the ball was going.

That is what makes this offense so hard to defend right now.

Devon Dampier finished 18-of-24 for 261 yards and two touchdowns and added two more scores on the ground.

Wayshawn Parker scored three times for six total touchdowns on the year. Noah Bennee had 113 receiving yards. McGiven continues to prove himself.

This was probably Utah’s biggest question coming into the year. Saturday was a really good answer. Utah protected Dampier and moved the ball consistently against a much better defensive front. Arkansas tried different pressures and different looks up front. It really did not matter.

The Utes threw the ball efficiently, kept Dampier clean, and moved the ball when they needed to. Against an SEC front, that was a really solid showing.

The secondary was flying around

This secondary was everywhere. Utah finished with 13 pass breakups, the second-most in a game in program history. That number tells the story. Utah’s defensive backs were flying around, running to the ball and making everything difficult for Jackson.

The pressure up front helped, too. Jackson never got comfortable, and once he started forcing throws, Utah’s secondary was waiting.Then there is Jackson Bennee.

Bennee read the screen, jumped it, and picked Jackson off early in the second quarter. Three plays later, Utah was in the end zone. He always seems to be around the football.

It was another huge night for the star running back, where he scored three touchdowns. That tells you everything.

He finished with 118 total yards, including five catches for 65 yards. McGiven is finding different ways to get him the ball, which makes him even harder to defend.

You cannot just load the box and worry about Parker running it. He can beat you out of the backfield too. Six touchdowns through two games is a pretty good start.

Utah stopped the run. They pressured the quarterback. They were efficient throwing the football. And they looked focused from start to finish. McGiven’s offense continues to look like a problem. Idaho was the first look. Arkansas gave us a much better idea of what this team actually is.

And right now, Utah looks really good.

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