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- Utah's run game is crucial to its offensive success, ranking fifth nationally.
- Wayshawn Parker rushed for 145 yards in a 53-7 win over Colorado.
- Freshman QB Byrd Ficklin had 151 rushing yards, showcasing Utah's diverse rushing strategy.
SALT LAKE CITY — Starting running back Wayshawn Parker said he's been "failing Utah" a bit this season.
The sophomore back, who had a goal of rushing for 1,000 yards — 1,500 even — ahead of the season, said he hadn't been living up to the expectations he placed on himself. With his skillset, he felt like topping 100 yards per game was doable, especially with the offensive line Utah had this year.
And on Saturday, Parker showed Utah fans what he's fully capable of — not that anyone needed a reminder.
Parker rushed for 145 yards — including a 58-yard rushing touchdown — on 10 carries to help the Utes to the seventh-best rushing performance (and second-best against a Power Four opponent) all-time in school history with a 422-yard night in a 53-7 win over Colorado.
"I haven't been touching 100 yards, so I had to touch 100 yards this game," Parker said. "I promise that's not gonna be the last game."
His performance wasn't even the best of the night as true freshman quarterback Byrd Ficklin in his first career start stole the show with a team-high 151 rushing yards — including a 63-yard rushing touchdown on the second play of the game — to add to the team's rushing tally.
Whatever Utah wanted in the run game against Colorado, it got.
And for much of the season, that's been the winning strategy for the Utes against nearly every opponent. The team ranks fifth in the country — surrounded by the service academy schools who rely heavily on the run game — with an average of 267.1 rushing yards per game.
Utah has rushed for more than 225 yards in every game this season but one — a meager 101 outing in a loss to Texas Tech — to make it a vital component of the team's offensive success.
The team has also rushed for 24 touchdowns this season, too.
(For context, Utah averaged 130.5 yards and finished with seven rushing touchdowns in 12 games last season.)
Utah has complimented that with 209.8 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns this season, which has been just enough to add a little more versatility to the offense while emphasizing the dominant run game (behind that previously mentioned offensive line).
And yet, the focus for much of the season has been on Utah needing more production in the "throw game" — with many looking at Utah's low ranking in "explosive plays" as the biggest proof for that belief.
But Utah continues to find a way this season to get it done with the primary focus on the run game. The offense can't ignore or abandon the pass, which remains a necessary component of Jason Beck's playbook, but the versatility in the run game remains Utah's identity.
And while Parker hasn't hit 100 yards per game this season, he's still the team's leading rusher with 503 yards, four touchdowns and averaging 7.2 yards per carry. The benefit is he's not needed to be the only focus for the run game.
Both mobile quarterbacks significantly contribute to the rushing attack (Dampier has 442 yards and five touchdowns; Ficklin has 262 yards and four touchdowns), while NaQuari Rogers has added 325 yards and seven touchdowns. And then there's Daniel Bray, who has recently been a threat off the edge with his speed and has accounted for 203 yards and a touchdown.
More importantly, that rushing attack doesn't rely on just one player each game and has been a diversified approach to moving the chains and picking up yards. Rogers tops the running backs with 10.0 attempts per game, while others fall under than average.
It's all helped preserve a run game that doesn't rely solely on one player, while contributing to the overall success of the offense.
And it's helping Utah to the 11th-best scoring offense in the country, in which the team averages 38.9 points per game. That's usually more than enough to win games — so long as everything else goes well, too.
