Travis Wilson and the Utah offense flexed their muscles Saturday afternoon, cruising past the Fresno State Bulldogs, 59-27 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Wilson completed 11 of his 20 pass attempts for 181 yards and five touchdowns, in addition to gaining 50 yards on the ground. Wilson, once again, gave a lot of credit to the offensive weapons surrounding him.
“I think it was a great job by our wide receivers getting open,” Wilson said about the effectiveness of the passing game. “I think it was all a combination of a good running game and it really opened up the pass game and we took advantage of some big plays.”
The running game aiding Wilson was led by Devontae Booker for a second straight week with 67 yards on 10 carries, as well as Bubba Poole who netted 54 yards on 13 carries.
While Wilson was only able to complete 11 passes for a 55 percent completion rate, he was pleased with what the offense was able to do with them.
“I’d definitely like to have more completions, but we made some big plays off of those completions,” he said. “I’m just happy we connected in the end zone a lot in the passing game.”
The Utes’ powerful receiving duo of Dres Anderson and Kenneth Scott also had a big day as they combined for 161 yards receiving and accounted for four of Wilson’s five touchdown passes. Anderson finished the day with three receptions for 84 yards and two touchdowns while Scott finished with six catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns.
“We have high standards for ourselves this year,” Scott said about the offense. “We believe we can accomplish those things and it comes as no surprise for us.”
While Anderson and Scott tend to engage in a lot of friendly competition for stats, they both understand that their success this year is coming from them both being on the field at once. Anderson believes that his job becomes “way easier” with Scott on the field and noted that alongside him, he only has to beat single-man coverage.
“Me and K-Scott have been seeing this coming for a long time now,” Anderson said. “We work so hard during practice that to see it [success] show and tell on the field is a great thing.”
The game began quickly for the Utes. After a 47-yard field goal by Andy Phillips on their first drive. The Utes tagged on two more touchdowns by the end of the first quarter and took a 17-0 lead without allowing the Fresno State offense to record a first down.
The Utes scored 14 more points in the second quarter and only allowed a single touchdown by the visiting Bulldogs going into halftime.
The second half saw a drop in quality for the Utes as the second string players took over, but there were still positives. Backup quarterback Kendall Thompson completed four of his seven passes for 87 yards and a touchdown while also netting 71 yards on 9 carries on the ground.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was pleased to see his offense executing plays like they had the week before against Idaho State and thought the first team offense and defense had improved on their previous performances.
“It was a good win,” Whittingham said. “I was really pleased with the offense, the tempo and the execution. The offense just played a really clean game. Travis [Wilson] looked good today, he distributed the ball for us just like he did last week. The backs ran hard and the receivers made plays.”
Defensively, Whittingham emphasized the success of the defensive line being able to stymie the Fresno State rushing attack which had a good game against USC the week before.
“The first [team] defense was really good. We definitely improved our run defense – giving up 55 yards on 40 rushes is really what we’re all about,” he said.
The Utes have a bye week this week to prepare for their first road trip of the season as they head to Ann Arbor, Mich. to take on the Michigan Wolverines in the “Big House” on Sept. 20.
 
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