A dark horse to make a run at things in the Pac-12 this year had a nice outing in Week 1 against Weber State. Utah football has one of the best duos in the nation.
Utah football was like most of the Power Five teams that were in action around the country on Aug. 30. Facing Weber State out of the FCS, Week 1 was largely a tune up game for the Utes. Utah was looking to a similar start out of the gate to what the Texas A&M Aggies and Oklahoma State Cowboys got on the same night that the Utes faced Weber State.
Entering the game as an obvious heavy favorite over Weber State, Utah was just looking to get in rhythm on both sides of the ball before taking on a pretty difficult Group of Five opponent in Week 2 in the Northern Illinois Huskies. After facing Northern Illinois, the gauntlet in the Pac-12 for Utah begins. Utah has to face the likes of the Washington Huskies, Washington State Cougars, and Stanford Cardinal in three straight weeks.
If you could think through every Power Five team in the nation that is consistently underrated, Utah would have to fit on that list. The Utes might not win the Pac-12 South this year, but this is certainly one team to follow in a wide open race for the division crown. Other talented teams like the USC Trojans and Arizona Wildcats definitely don’t have a tight grasp on the division by all indications. The Pac-12 South is more wide open than the North.
More good news for Utah is that its situation in the backfield looks very promising. Starting quarterback Tyler Huntley posted 253 passing yards and four touchdowns in the opener. To add to that, running back Zack Moss registered 174 total yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Huntley and Moss combined for every touchdown that the Utes scored against Weber State.
This quarterback-running back duo looks to be one of the absolute best in the Pac-12. It’s hard to rival Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin with Washington or K.J. Costello and Bryce Love with Stanford, but Utah might be third in line in this category. If something is able to carry this Utah offense through what promises to be a long and grueling 2018 schedule, this dynamic duo can do that.