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They beat an opponent with 11 national championships. They beat — gasp — Jim Harbaugh.

Per custom, the Utes twice sang "Utah Man" — first, in step with the band, later, the rollicking, double-time rendition they save for the locker room.

"Three times in a row," Kyle Whittingham told his victorious team, holding up a finger for each occasion on which his Utes have seized the national spotlight from the boys in maize and blue.

"Three times in a row."

Now, they'll turn their attention to what they didn't do in Thursday night's 24-17 victory.

It's a decently long list.

Dubbed "Sack Lake City" after leading the nation last year with 55, the Utes finished sackless for the first time since November 2013, and Whittingham noted they didn't bat down their usual three-to-six passes at the line of scrimmage.

For only the second time in his career, Andy Phillips missed a majority of his field goal attempts, going 1-for-3.

Cramps hampered Utah's secondary. Junior college transfer cornerback Cory Butler-Byrd, otherwise reliable in his first Division I game, lost track of Michigan's Jehu Chesson and was only pardoned by an errant throw from first-time Michigan starter Jake Rudock.

Senior linebacker Gionni Paul, a captain and vocal leader, tempted fate with two late hits near the sideline.

Outside receivers Kenneth Scott and Tyrone Smith finished with four catches for 26 yards.

And while much was made of Utah's 2.2-yard rushing average last year in the Big House, that's exactly what the Utes were averaging until the line began to generate some push in the second half.

There were "a lot of good things," Whittingham said, but "a lot of things to clean up that if we don't get cleaned up, it will cost us down the road."

If deficiencies can alternately be viewed as room for improvement, then Utah's next opponent likewise has plenty of room to improve.

Told during Thursday's postgame news conference that Utah State had edged the Big Sky's Southern Utah 12-9, Whittingham admitted he was surprised.

"Is that what it was? OK, well, lot of defense," Whittingham said. "We'll have to look at the tape and find out why."

The last time the Aggies visited Rice-Eccles Stadium, quarterback Chuckie Keeton terrorized Utah's defense, completing more than three-fourths of his passes and accounting for more than 400 total yards and three touchdowns while he danced around flummoxed pass-rushers.

But it's been a while since Keeton has looked so dynamic. Since injuring his left knee against BYU in October 2013, he's totaled 536 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions in three-and-a-half games.

The Aggies won't have suspended leading receiver Hunter Sharp, who accounted for more than a third of their passing yards as they went 10-4 in 2014, and second-leading receiver JoJo Natson, dismissed this offseason for a violation of team rules.

Without them, the Aggies were 1-of-16 on third downs and required an 88-yard Andrew Rodriguez punt return to outscore the Thunderbirds.

In some ways, they're not so unlike Michigan: A stingy defense, a solid rushing attack and major unresolved questions about their ability to pass efficiently.

The biggest difference — besides the 11 national titles and the coach's profile — may be that Utah State is no mystery, Whittingham said, whereas Michigan's new staff compelled Utah to do a great deal of guessing.

"We have a chance to watch them play on TV, and we know about Chuckie Keeton," he said. "We know he's a heck of a player and we know we've got our hands full, but at least we'll have some definitive tape to watch."

And some definitive tape of themselves, too.

Twitter: @matthew_piper —

Utah State at Utah

P Friday, 7 p.m.

TV • ESPN2