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Utah opened against Idaho in a 4-3 instead of last year's usual 4-2-5, starting Elijah Elliss alongside Trey Reynolds and Johnathan Hall while using Cyrus Polu early as an edge rusher in passing situations.
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Utah's film review described frequent pressure despite just one recorded sack, highlighting Lance Holtzclaw and disguised rushes that mixed four-man pressure with blitzers from multiple levels and occasional defensive-line coverage drops.
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Utah's Jackson Bennee drew strong marks at nickel for coverage and added strength, while Rabbit Evans and Nate Ritchie appeared headed for more free-safety work outside the box despite having previously been best used nearer the line.
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Utah's defensive-tackle depth was identified as a weakness on Idaho's 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, with reserves Mike Tauteoli and Pupu Sepulona losing some interior reps in contrast to the writer's strong assessment of Jireh Moe and Karson Kaufusi.
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Utah surrendered Idaho quarterback Joshua Wood's long touchdown run after Holtzclaw lost contain, allowing Wood to escape the accompanying blitz and exposing an edge-discipline issue even though the author considered the mistake correctable.