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In his first start as a safety, Chase Hansen made an impact, but appeared to suffer a serious injury on the final play of the game.
The freshman got the start at strong safety over Tevin Carter based on merit, coach Kyle Whittingham said, and showed it on the field. He finished with a team-leading 11 tackles, and forced a fumble in the first half that was recovered by Utah.
But Hansen went down on the final play after getting hurt in the scrum. Medical personnel wrapped his left leg and carted him off the field.
Whittingham said he didn't yet know the extent of the injury immediately after the game, but "it didn't look good."
Hansen has made waves since switching onto defense midseason. He returned from his LDS Church mission as a quarterback — he's on the depth chart as the third passer, behind Kendal Thompson — but quickly made the change to safety with his athleticism.
On the season, he has 19 tackles and a sack.
Injury report
Utah went another week without being at full strength in the trenches.
The Utes left two key defensive linemen at home this weekend, as Hunter Dimick and Filipo Mokofisi stayed in Salt Lake City. Another regular starter, senior center Saiosi Aiono, made the trip but didn't suit up, as expected.
Of the three missing starters, Whittingham announced Monday that Aiono would miss the game, with Hiva Lutui making his second straight start in the middle of the offensive line. Wearing street clothes, Aiono appeared to have several fingers on his right hand wrapped.
Dimick missed his second start in a row with a shoulder injury, with Kylie Fitts covering his absence. Mokofisi, who is a regular in the defensive tackle rotation, was replaced in part by Pasoni Tasini.
MUSS comes by bus
The Utes got a healthy dose of support from the Mighty Utah Student Section on Saturday night in Husky Stadium.
The MUSS annually travels by bus to one road game a year. The student section brought 160 students on three buses to spend the weekend cheering on the Utes.
Twitter: @kylegoon