All eyes focused on quarterback Tyler Huntley as the Utes opened their season on Thursday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Doing so, against Weber State, was one of the few expected payoffs, indicators of what was new and improved, against an overwhelmed FCS opponent, one that had no authentic shot at victory.
It didn’t work out that way, at least not for a half. The payoff came later. When it arrived, Utah looked like a quality team, Huntley like a quality quarterback, winning 41-10.
“Awful” was the word Kyle Whittingham used to describe his team’s early performance. Later, he said, “we started playing our game.