Utah Football Defensive Preview

Eat, Sleep, Punish, Repeat

Utah S Cole Bishop in the Pac 12 title game via @pff_college on twitter

The Basics

• The Utes are led by DC Morgan Scalley (8th season as DC)

  • Utah runs a 4-3 scheme under his watch

  • Cal last played a Scalley defense in 2019 (35-0 loss)

  • Utah has led the Pac 12 in rush defense five times ever since Scalley took over as DC

2022 Defense in Review

• FEI Ratings: 25th on defense

• Utah gave up 21.4 points per game last year

• 2nd in the conference in run and pass defense

As simplistic as it sounds, Utah’s defense last year was a continuation of the standard that Kyle Whittingham and Morgan Scalley have established over their time in Salt Lake City. Stifling run defense, linebackers who can rally to the tackle, and a secondary that doesn’t allow much of anything unless they are playing at USC. If there’s one area consistently that the Utes have struggled with, its when they meet the dire combination of not winning the line of scrimmage mixed with encountering a generational athlete. Examples include Anthony Richardson, Jaxson Smith-Njigba, and Caleb Williams. Now those are all first round NFL draft picks, but when Utah can’t make that play within those first few seconds, that’s when the wheels have rarely come off.

Depth Chart

The Provisional Starters

Edge Connor O’Toole, DT Junior Tafuna, DT Keanu Tanuvasa, Edge Jonah Elliss

LB Karene Reid, LB Levani Damuni, LB Lander Barton

CB JaTravis Broughton, S Cole Bishop, S Sione Vaki, CB Zemaiah Vaughn

Players to Watch

Utah’s defense has a plethora of players that can become absolute game-wreckers on any given weekend. This list could feasibly start and end with Edge Jonah Elliss, who has 10.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks as we hit the halfway point of the season. Elliss wins his matchups at the point of attack, gets opposing offenses off schedule, and sends them into submission. If Cal has any hope of staying on schedule, they better block him and get some additional protection going. Of course with most of the attention going towards Elliss, others will have opportunities to step up. Safeties Cole Bishop and Sione Vaki are used in a number of creative ways under Morgan Scalley. From delayed blitzes, to thumping receivers over the middle, to filling gaps in run support, these two are the heart and soul of the Utes defense. They lead the team in tackles, interceptions, and are all around just a whole load to deal with.

Other players who would have made the list include Logan Fano, but unfortunately he suffered a season ending injury vs Oregon State. Furthermore, I still feel an eerie presence from Edge Van Fillinger, who was putting solid numbers before a season ending injury last year. Fillinger hasn’t found his stride yet in 2023 but there’s something to be harnessed in there if the Cal offensive line isn’t careful.

How Cal can win this game

If Fernando Mendoza can keep up his decision making in comparison to Oregon State last week, that’ll be a great start for the Cal offense. Utah thrives in the chaos of Salt Lake City, with the MUSS making it deafening to no end. The Bears may need to work silent counts and hopefully find the ability to stay on schedule, otherwise they are in for a world of hurt. Rice Eccles Stadium is one of the hardest places to play in the country, so every position group is going to have to help Fernando Mendoza in his first career road start. There’s the obvious of getting Jaydn Ott going and not letting Jonah Elliss wreck the game solely, but for me I’m looking towards the wide receivers.

When facing elite defenses, you need to challenge them early, otherwise you run the risk of falling right into their wheelhouse and how they want to dictate the game. Jeremiah Hunter, Jack Endries, Taj Davis, and Trond Grizzell among others will need to get separation on the Utah secondary quickly, to give the Cal offense a jolt in a hostile environment. Jake Spavital may open up the playbook in a game where points will be at a premium, and the pass catchers know that their numbers will be called with the attention on Ott. Cal needs to throw several body shots early on, stay on schedule, and weather the storm of chaos. Otherwise it will be a long afternoon at altitude.