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BYU Football: 3 reasons why and why not BYU will beat Utah

By Adam Gibby

PROVO, UT - AUGUST 29 : Jaylen Dixon #25 of the Utah Utes is face masked as he is taken out of bounds by Mitchell Price #26, Jackson Kaufusi #38 and Dayan Ghanwoloku #5 of the BYU Cougars during their game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on August 29, in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - AUGUST 29 : Jaylen Dixon #25 of the Utah Utes is face masked as he is taken out of bounds by Mitchell Price #26, Jackson Kaufusi #38 and Dayan Ghanwoloku #5 of the BYU Cougars during their game at LaVell Edwards Stadium on August 29, in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) /
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Sep 2, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes running back Tavion Thomas (9) runs the ball in the second quarter past Weber State Wildcats safety Ja’Kobe Harris (24) on his way to a touchdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 2, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes running back Tavion Thomas (9) runs the ball in the second quarter past Weber State Wildcats safety Ja’Kobe Harris (24) on his way to a touchdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Utah has the edge in other areas

BYU’s secondary is hurting (literally) right now. With the exception of one long pass play against Arizona, the Cougars gave up 345 passing yards. Brewer is better than Cruz, and the receivers for Utah are better than Arizona. If the defensive backs give up the space that they did to the Arizona receivers, this will be a very long night.

Another area that Utah has a clear advantage is on the defensive line. BYU’s line is experienced, but Hall was forced out of the pocket quite a few times against Arizona. It doesn’t matter how good the receivers and tight ends are for BYU, if Hall doesn’t have enough time to drop back and wait for his receivers to break out into their routes, it won’t matter.

Finally, as much as we love Kalani Sitake, Kyle Whittingham and his staff are just better than BYU. Whittingham has been with the Utes for what will be his 17th season which ranks third amongst FBS coaches. In today’s game, unless you are a top coach, you don’t stay around the same program for more than five or six years.

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