Offense: Dres Anderson, WR, Junior
At 6-foot-7, sophomore quarterback Travis Wilson undoubtedly has the height to see over defenses, and one player he’s seen wide open plenty through his team’s first four games is Dres Anderson, Utah’s top wide receiver thus far.
Of the four individual 100-yard receiving performances for the Utes this season, Anderson owns three. His best game came in Utah’s 20-13 win in the Holy War against rival BYU when he hauled in eight Wilson passes for 141 yards. Even with a week 5 bye, Anderson’s 404 receiving yards rank him 26th among all FBS wide receivers.
UCLA defensive coordinator Lou Spanos hinted at the Utah wide receiving corps’ ability to hurt defenses, particularly when making the first tackler miss.
“(Wilson is) doing a good job this year and once he gets the ball to his receivers, they do a good job with yards after the catch,” Spanos said. “They’re an explosive team.”
Defense: Utah’s Pass Rush
No one player in particular jumps out on the Utes’ stat sheet. No defender has recorded more than six tackles in a single game and just one player, senior defensive back Michael Walker, has logged an interception.
That being said, the Utes like to rotate players to keep their defense fresh. Twenty-one different players have five or more tackles, and Utah currently ranks fifth in the nation with 15 sacks, including five against a BYU team that converted just five of its 21 third downs.
Above all, the offensive coordinator for the Bruins, Noel Mazzone, said that Utah’s defense – despite the absence of defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, who was drafted in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers – pursues well and makes very few mental errors.
“They’re physical, strong, very well-coached,” Mazzone said. “They know what they’re doing.”