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SALT LAKE CITY — Not accounting for so-called garbage minutes late in the game, Utah was a heavy passing team on Thursday.
That was by design.
That statement, alone, may take some getting used to for a program that has relied so heavily on the run game to dictate offensive schemes over Kyle Whittingham's tenure at Utah. But are the times changing?
Utah went into the Southern Utah game with a "throw first game plan," according to offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. That should come as no real surprise, though, given Utah's bevy of pass catchers this year ready and willing to make their name known.
Sure, Brant Kuithe was back to his usual antics of getting open with ease and scoring three touchdowns in his return to the field in nearly two years, but even running back Dijon Stanley got in on the receiving action and scored on two deep passing plays.
This isn't your grandma's Utes anymore.
Somewhat hyperbole aside, Utah mostly went with a pass-heavy offensive scheme against Southern Utah because the in-state FCS program went hard into loading up the box and leaving its secondary in man coverage. Veteran QB Cam Rising beat that coverage with relative ease.
Stanley was wide open on two wheel routes that went for 60+ yard touchdowns, and Kuithe settled into the middle of the field, where Southern Utah gave him plenty of space to work.
In short, it wasn't a tough game plan to follow through on given the space the pass catchers were given.
But Utah hopes to make similar exploits in the coming weeks, as Rising looks to spread the ball around to the various wide receivers, tight ends and running backs that can catch passes in a multitude of ways to keep defenses guessing.
"Some weeks the tight ends will be more involved and more the core of the plan, some weeks it's wide receivers," Whittingham said on Monday. "I think it's matchups and the type of defense that we're facing, their personnel — are they playing nickel, are they playing 43 — so all that stuff goes into play.
"But one thing that's a big positive is we have the luxury of being able to attack different ways, and have a lot of weapons for Cam and coach Ludwig to utilize."
That was evident on Thursday to a small degree.
Ludwig threw out a 14 personnel package — four tight ends lined up — and used a running back as a decoy to get a streaking Kuithe an easy touchdown. There's Caleb Lohner, a convert to football, who can seemingly win every 50/50 ball with his size.
Not to be forgotten, there's Dorian Singer, the dynamic receiver that had a quiet first game, who is projected to be one of Rising's top targets in the receiving game. Or Mycah Pittman, who found himself wide open several times Thursday but was one of many options available. There's an emerging Landen King. Money Parks. Carsen Ryan. Damien Alford.
You get the point.
It's an offense that will likely trend more toward the pass than the run this season, and that's largely due to Ludwig scheming to get the best players the ball.
But if teams attempt to take away the pass, Ludwig is ready for it with a run game the coaching staff has confidence in with Micah Bernard, Jaylon Glover, Mike Mitchell, and Stanley.
Stanley, alone, has shown what type of weapon he can be when given space. Give him an inch of daylight and very few people can keep up with the young back who is now taking on a bigger role in the offensive game plan.
"He is one of the fastest dudes I've ever seen just running out there," Rising said. "He just hits a different gear. And when you have a guy like that, it just makes it so hard to have linebackers matched up on him and safeties, too, just because he can run right by them. (He) just really adds another element to our offense."
It all gives Ludwig an arsenal of plays — and playmakers — to utilize to keep defenses guessing. And while he only threw out a few tricks on Thursday, he's got many more cards up his sleeve that he expects to deploy at the right time.
Whether more cards are shown against Baylor in Week 2 remains to be seen, but the Bears — with head coach Dave Aranda now more heavily involved in the defensive play-calling — will likely look to attack the line and put pressure on the run game and Rising.
Utah feels it has the weapons around Rising to tailor the offense to whatever is needed to get it done — probably more than any year in Whittingham's tenure, and certainly in Ludwig's time at Utah — and it will likely start with a much heavier dose in the passing game to create "chunk plays," or put another way, big plays.
"In football, it's much easier to put points on the board if you get chunk yardage somewhere along the way in the drive. And we happened to have a couple plays that were huge, huge, chunk yardage plays," Whittingham said. "It's tough to go 14 plays, 4 or 5 yards at a time, and so it was positive in that respect."
