Travis Wilson — B
20-for-31, 219 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, 31 yards rushing
On paper, Wilson didn’t have a bad game. He made some good reads and throws throughout the game and if not for a couple dropped passes by his guys, the outcome of this game may have been different. He spread the ball out to seven different receivers, but at the end of the day, Wilson is a senior and a leader on this team and he couldn’t produce the win on the road when the Utes absolutely needed it. Wilson has another big test next week taking on UCLA freshman sensation Josh Rosen at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Devontae Booker — A-
145 rushing yards, one touchdown
Booker was back on the field on Saturday doing Booker things. He cut, rumbled and pounded his way to 145 rushing yards, making this his 14th career 100-yard game, tying him for the most in school history. It was also his seventh 100-yard game of the season, which ties him for third for a single season in the school record books. These records prove how great Booker actually is, but he has to remember the basics. Too often Booker carries the ball carelessly, evident with his one fumble at Arizona (and another near-fumble later in the game). If Booker holds on to the football, he’s one of the best backs in the country.
Defense — C-
No sacks, 460 total offensive yards given up and 37 points given up. Does that sound like the typical Utah defense to you? This unit was not playing like it normally does and I’m really not even sure why. Wildcat quarterback Anu Solomon was picking on cornerback Dominique Hatfield early and often, right from the opening kickoff. Arizona came out firing and made the Utah defense look pedestrian. To top it all off, the secondary let a backup quarterback, who hadn’t completed a pass in his short time on the field, win the game in double overtime. Not the best performance for a group that has been considered an elite defense.
Special teams — C
Save a perfect night kicking from Andy Phillips (3-for-3 on field goals), the exciting special teams group for Utah had potentially its least productive game of the season. Tom Hackett didn’t pin Arizona inside its own 20-yard line once and Britain Covey had just two punt returns for negative-two yards (though he did return a kickoff for 36 yards). It’s not that the lack of production had a huge outcome on the game, but this Utah team thrives off of the big plays the special teams has produced this season. Without them, there was a lack of energy on the other sides of the ball and they will need to regroup before a matchup with UCLA next weekend.
@GriffDoug