Utah Football: 3 takeaways from home shutout over Cal in Week 9

2. Is Tyler Huntley the best quarterback in the Pac-12?

It might sound crazy to say in a league that boasts players like Justin Herbert, Jacob Eason, Khalil Tate, Steven Montez, and Anthony Gordon, but at this point of the 2019 season Tyler Huntley might be outplaying everybody else among a deep stable of Pac-12 quarterbacks.

Even as he gutted it out on one leg for the Utes, Huntley showed his ability to dominate what was rated before Week 9 as one of the top 25 defenses in the country. With a passer efficiency rating of 180.1 before Saturday’s outing, Huntley led the Pac-12 in that category ahead of Week 9.

He boosted that number as he finished 11-of-17 for 214 yards and a touchdown in the first half before coming out of the game with Utah up big and his passer efficiency rating for the game at 189.9. Despite an inability to move around much and hurt the Golden Bears defense with his legs, Huntley made his mark — and made sure his name gets mentioned when people talk about the best quarterbacks in the Pac-12.

Jason Shelley took over and played well for the Utes in relief, but by then the Cal defense had already been demoralized by Huntley. Shelley was more mobile, running for 24 yards and a touchdown, and he completed four of his five attempts for 28 yards. While he was more accurate, Shelley also threw for seven fewer yards per attempt than the undisputed leader of the Utes offense.