This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ten yards tell only part of the story.
In a 24-17 win over Michigan, Utah quarterback Travis Wilson opened the season with a 208-yard passing production Thursday. That's barely 10 yards more than the Utes' average last season, when their passing game ranked last in the Pac-12 and was inadequate for a conference contender and Top 25 team.
Take away a chunk of the 20 yards that Devontae Booker gained by squeezing through traffic after a catching a swing pass, and the Utes would have finished below the 200-yard mark against Michigan. Yet subjectively, anyone who has watched Wilson's career unfold over four seasons had to be impressed with him.
Wilson seemed like a different quarterback, throwing the football crisply and accurately. His 24-of-33 completion rate probably gives him too much credit, because of all the quick, short throws to the flat. But when he stood in the pocket delivered the ball over the middle, he looked good.
Reviews of Wilson's play this season will tend to be skewed in his favor, for two reasons: He deserves to enjoy a good senior year, after all he has experienced with medical issues and benchings. And co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick is well-liked in the program and in the community. Improvement from Wilson would reflect Roderick's positive influence as the quarterback coach and the replacement for former play-caller Dave Christensen, whose personality, let's just say, made him less embraceable.
With that disclaimer, it was apparent that Wilson played more confidently and decisively Thursday. His 53 rushing yards, including a 14-yard touchdown, also were a vital part of Utah's offense with Michigan's defense preoccupied with stopping Booker.
Half of Wilson's completions went to Booker or slot receiver Britain Covey. So the next phase of the passing game's development involves getting the ball to Kenneth Scott and other outside receivers, but this was a good start. And Wilson's passing and running eventually enabled Booker to get going. Michigan held him to minus-1 yard on his first six carries and 21 yards on 14 attempts in the first half. From those starting points, he finished strong — with 70 yards on his last 16 runs and 48 yards on his eight carries in the second half.
Booker worked hard for all of those yards, as Michigan's solid front seven kept him from having a breakout game that could have launched his Heisman Trophy campaign. Overall, though, the Utes made a good impression on a stage made bigger by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh's presence. Utah became an afterthought in some of the national coverage, but most of the reviews of Harbaugh's debut were complimentary to the Utes, describing them as the kind of team that Michigan wants to become.
Utah's achievements vs. Michigan will be measured by what the Wolverines go on to do in September and beyond. The sooner Harbaugh's revival takes place, the more credit the Utes will get for their season-opening effort.
We'll never know exactly how much Harbaugh's involvement drove the interest level of Thursday's game, but he obviously was a huge factor both in the demand for tickets at Rice-Eccles Stadium and the Fox Sports 1 ratings. The Utah-Michigan series would have been intriguing, anyway, but Harbaugh made the return game a spectacle.
I'll always believe that Utah could have played both Michigan and BYU in these two seasons and that Fresno State, not Michigan, is the opponent that actually replaced BYU. That's coming from a perspective of 2015, when the Utes clearly are better equipped to play such a schedule than in 2012, when those deals were made as they were getting established in the Pac-12.
So while I disagree that the trade-off of the rivalry game was necessary, I'll say that it was worthwhile — recognizing that the Utah-Michigan series would not have happened otherwise.
To get full credit for its participation, Utah now needs Michigan to follow through with a successful season. This will require Ute fans to cheer for the Wolverines against Gary Andersen's Oregon State team and BYU in September, which they're probably willing to do.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
Utah's receiving production against Michigan
Player, position Receptions Yards
Devontae Booker, RB 7 55
Britain Covey, WR 5 58
Harrison Handley, TE 2 25
Siale Fakailoatonga, TE 2 17
Kenneth Scott, WR 2 15
Tyrone Smith, WR 2 11
Evan Moeai, TE 1 5