Offense — D+
Just looking at the box score, it would be easy to assume this wasn’t a terrible performance from the Utes on the offensive side of the ball. Utah registered 384 yards with a near even balance between rushing and passing, but the Utes looked absolutely terrible on offense against Arizona. From three-and-outs to tipped passes, Utah never had a firm grasp on this game and looked stagnant most of the time. This was the worst the offense has looked all season, and that’s saying something.
 
Defense — C
As bad as the offense was in this game, the defense wasn’t much better. The Utes were able to muster up seven tackles for loss and two sacks to uphold their Sack Lake City name, but the Cats were running ‘wild’ on the Utah defense. The Utes gave up over 500 yards of total offense to Arizona, including nearly 300 of them coming on the ground. Wildcat freshman running back Nick Wilson looked unstoppable at times, and what was once the anchor of the team looked inadequate on Saturday.
 
Special teams — A-
It might be hard to believe, but Utah was once in this game. The sole reason the Utes even had a sliver of hope was because of Tom Hackett and company. The punter from Australia eclipsed the 400-yard mark punting the football for the second straight week, including pinning the Wildcats inside their 20-yard line five times. If it wasn’t for Hackett and his punts, the score may have been a lot worse. Additionally, Andy Phillips made his only field goal attempt, and Kaelin Clay took a return to the house (even though it was negated by a penalty). Not a bad day in the office for this group.
 
Coaching — C-
It’s hard to put a grade on the coaching staff because none of us know what is going on internally with the Utes. Maybe the offense wasn’t sticking to the game plan, or maybe some of the defensive players were being too aggressive and not sticking to their assignments. None of these mistakes should be accredited to head coach Kyle Whittingham, but at the same time, this game was ugly on both sides of the ball. It goes without saying, but coaching definitely plays a part in that. And according to Whittingham in his post-game comments, he and his staff were simply “out-coached” in this one.
 
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