Utah Utes football: Utes hope for repeat effort

Utah's offense is riding high.

After opening the season with inconsistent performances, everything seemed to come together in last Saturday's 49-16 victory over Colorado State. The Utes racked up a season-high 549 yards of total offense with vast contributions across the board. They racked up 25 first downs in improving to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in Mountain West Conference play.

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said the showing was what he expected going into the season. He credited offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig for calling a great game.

"We spread the ball around, got a lot of people involved and really did a lot of good things," Whittingham said.

The Utes were downright offensive.

Quarterback Brian Johnson completed 18 passes for 185 yards and backup Corbin Louks rushed for a game-high 109 yards on just five carries. Jereme Brooks, Freddie Brown, Davis Reed and Bradon Godfrey combined for 16 receptions. The offensive line got into the act by not giving up a single sack.

Whittingham acknowledged the offense was "greatly improved" last week.

"We are more of what I envisioned it to be on Saturday," he explained. "A lot of speed and space."

Translation: The Utes got the ball to their skill guys in key spaces as Johnson effectively ran the triple option and spread things around.

After reviewing game film, Whittingham said there wasn't a major deficiency on offense.

Utah rolled the dice a little bit and allowed Johnson, who has battled injuries since becoming the starter in 2005, to do what he does best. Whittingham said "calculated risks" are being taken to open things up at this point of the season.

With Johnson at the helm, Utah has won 16 of his past 17 starts. The Utes lead the conference in scoring with 39 points per game, tied for 13th best in the nation. It's the third-highest average in team history.

The offense is complementing strong showings by the defense and special teams this season. The efforts have Utah off to its best start since 2004. Comparisons are already being made.

"I think we've got real good leadership on this team like we did in '04. We've got an outstanding quarterback who is the team leader," Whittingham said. "Alex (Smith) was our team leader in '04, and Brian's our team leader now."