SAN DIEGO, Calif.8212;Maybe all the Utah offense needed was some cozy, southern California weather to tune up for the most important game of the year.
The No. 8 Utes romped over San Diego State, mostly on offense, with their most impressive aerial attack of the season.
Utah scored on five of its six first-half possessions and hit the next gear against the Aztecs.
“Offense put up some good numbers,” said head coach Kyle Whittingham. “It was very good production by the offense.”
Utah had 520 yards to be precise. Coinciding with Utah’s 322 yards that came in the air, the running game took center-stage in the second half and went on to earn 198 on the night.
Quarterback Brian Johnson executed Utah’s spread offense and had one of the best performances of his career by going 23-for-29, and 225 yards to go with five touchdown passes.
“We came out and set the tone early,” Johnson said. “I think we kinda just set the tone and we were able to get the momentum and just go from there.”
Johnson’s five first-half touchdown tosses were a personal high and he was one short of the all-time record with six. His performance vaulted him passed the realm of Alex Smith and Mike McCoy who were first and second on the list with 47 and 49, respectively. Johnson now stands alone with 50.
“Brian even broke Alex Smith’s passing touchdown record,” Whittingham said. “I didn’t know that until someone told me after the game.”
Johnson knew the single-game record was six and admitted it was at the back of his mind during the game.
“I wanted to go for the record,” Johnson said. “I knew it was six, I knew it was six. Hopefully I have another chance to get it here soon.”
The much-awaited offense assault hit the scene at Qualcomm Stadium from the very first Utah drive. Thanks to a forced fumble by the Ute defense, Johnson and the offense used prime field and promptly marched down for an early touchdown thanks to Johnson’s 3-for-3, 31-yard drive, culminating in a 2-yard touchdown toss to tight end Colt Sampson.
A poorly thrown ball that was picked off by SDSU’s Jose Perez momentarily interrupted Johnson’s first-half mastery.
After the turnover that led to an Aztec touchdown, Johnson responded with two more touchdown passes upping Utah’s first-half lead to 35-7.
Johnson finished the night with 283 yards passing on 27-for-38 attempts.
“Utah is obviously a good team, they’re not No. 7 for no reason,” said Aztec safety Corey Boudreaux. “(Johnson) was picking us apart. He was definitely throwing the ball well and putting it in good places.”
Senior wideout Freddie Brown continued his string of impressive outings with another 100-yard game against SDSU. Brown finished with 110 yards receiving on 11 receptions resulting in two touchdowns. Junior David Reed also had a career night as he hauled in 87 yards on four receptions and two touchdowns, most notably a 32-yard strike, which was the first play of the second quarter.
Wide receiver Bradon Godfrey confessed it was the play of his fifth-year senior quarterback that helped the Utes blow by the Aztecs.
“He’s awesome,” Godfrey said in reference to Johnson. “He’s a phenomenal quarterback. You can see his maturity and growth. He’s a focused guy, and there’s no better way to go out as senior with Brian playing the way he’s playing.”
Tyler CobbHead Coach Kyle Whittingham said that Utahs ?offence put up some good numbers.? The Utes had six first-half possessions and scored on five of those.