3 takeaways from No. 10 Utah’s loss to No. 19 Oregon State

Utah has lost its first game of the season. The Utes fell to fellow Pac-12 school Oregon State on Friday night, 21-7.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

The defense is great, but they can’t do it alone

In a by now familiar nightmare, the Utah offense struggled to move the ball throughout the night.

Quarterbacks Nate Johnson and Bryson Barnes combined for just 141 passing yards. Believe it or not — and you should probably believe it by now — the Utes hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown in five quarters before tight end Thomas Yassmin’s fourth-quarter touchdown.

Amid the offense’s struggles, the defense worked hard to keep the Utes in the game. After allowing Oregon State’s star running back Damien Martinez to score in the first quarter, defenders locked things down and held the Beavers scoreless for the second quarter.

But in the second half, Utah made some costly mistakes. As the FS1 commentators pointed out, it’s nearly impossible to continue performing at a high level when you have few chances to get off the field and rest.

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Utah needs Cam

At this point, it feels as if the Utah offense’s only hope for improvement rests on Cam Rising’s surgically repaired knee. The former starter has been stuck on the sideline so far this season as he awaits his doctor’s clearance to play.

On Friday, Utah’s quarterback struggles were about more than just the passes and handoffs being made.

Utah quarterback Nate Johnson drops back to pass against Oregon State Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. | Amanda Loman, Associated Press

Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei dodges Utah cornerback Tao Johnson Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. | Amanda Loman, Associated Press

Oregon State wide receiver Silas Bolden dodges Utah cornerback JaTravis Broughton Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. | Amanda Loman, Associated Press

Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei drops back to pass against Utah during game Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. | Amanda Loman, Associated Press

Oregon State wide receiver Anthony Gould is brought down by Utah cornerback Zemaiah Vaughn Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. | Amanda Loman, Associated Press

Oregon State running back Damien Martinez (6) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Utah Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. | Amanda Loman, Associated Press

Utah tight end Thomas Yassmin (87) rushes for a touchdown against Oregon State during the second half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. Oregon State won 21-7. | Amanda Loman, Associated Press

Oregon State wide receiver Silas Bolden (7) scores a touchdown against Utah during the second half of an NCAA college football game Friday, Sept. 29, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. Oregon State won 21-7. | Amanda Loman, Associated Press

Barnes and Johnson were both dealing with injuries. Late in the game, Johnson had to keep playing while heavily limping since Barnes had gone down on a dirty tackle earlier in the game.

The good news for Utah is that Rising likely will be available Oct. 14, which is the next time the team will take the field for a game. Rising is already splitting practice reps with Johnson, as the Deseret News previously reported, and the FS1 commentators said he could be cleared by his doctor as soon as this coming week.

Things could get worse before they get better

Even if Rising comes back and leads Utah to a relatively easy win against unranked California on Oct. 14, the Utes’ October outlook is challenging.

That’s because Utah’s upcoming schedule includes No. 8 USC (Oct. 21) and No. 9 Oregon (Oct. 28), two teams that will be very hard to defeat.

At 4-1, Utah can still make it a great season. But to do so, they’ll have to get the offense in gear and the defense more rest.