⚡ CFB Dashboard

Last Thursday we finally got our first look at Kevin McGiven's offense. It was exciting to see the Utes new pass game take flight and so many new pieces play a big part in the team's success. Here is what stood out to me as I watched every snap of the first team offense back on tape. Utah's new offensive coordinator got great starting field position when Trey Reynolds interception set the offense up inside the Idaho 30. On his first snap, McGiven loaded the Utes backfield with Wayshawn Parker, Daniel Bray, Semi Taulanga, and Devon Dampier behind the O-Block. This play showed right away that this offense would pull from last year's success but also be different in many ways. One such way is that Utah did not bring in a sixth offensive lineman. The Rhinos were on the field frequently, and often together, but the Utes opted against really beefing up the trenches. One new wrinkle Utah did use, though, was the decision to go with an unbalanced line on a few snaps. The Utes moved left tackle Zereoue Williams to the right side of the offensive line next to right tackle Cedric Jefferson. In his place, they would have one of the Rhinos come in and line up at tackle. Utah also did the opposite, moving Jefferson over to the left side. Motion is still going to be a huge part of this offense, with Hunter Andrews, Bray and the rest of the skill-position talent moving a lot. Andrews in particular is going to be fun to watch, with the Utes able to use him in the backfield, slot, or outside. Braden Pegan's second touchdown started with him going in motion before he got the handoff and broke into the end zone. One fun wrinkle was that Taulanga and Sione Motuapuaka were lined up on the outside and served as his lead blockers. I also really liked the way McGiven used Byrd Ficklin. The Utes backup quarterback lined up in the backfield and at wide receiver. He took direct snaps, received handoffs, pitched the ball, threw a pass, and even ran a route. The Utes know that Ficklin is a special talent on offense and want to give him the chance to shine. One thing that was evident on several plays is that Dampier has options. On his first touchdown, he had the option to run or throw it to Parker. In several other instances, he could hand it off or throw it outside to a pass catcher with blockers ready to lead the way. The Utes have used RPOs and the play-action pass game, and that won't change under Kevin McGiven. This offense loves to get multiple guys involved, and that will make it even harder for defenses to contain the Utes.