3 takeaways from Utah’s home win over Kansas

Originally planned to start at 8:15 but moved up because of forecasted showers, the game between Utah and Kansas was a very odd one to say the least, but the Utes made enough big plays to emerge the victors, 41-24.

All momentum was Utah's until it wasn't in the last minute of the first half.

The Utes struck early and fast to go up 14-0 while the Jayhawks couldn't get anything to work on the offensive side of the ball. Their only touchdown in the first 28-plus minutes came off David Santiago's strip of Devon Dampier inside Utah's 10.

But Utah also struggled to come by points after the initial two drives other than when Kansas helped out with a slew of penalties, and in the final 1:09 before halftime, the Jayhawks scored 10 points as quarterback Isaiah Marshall was able to penetrate the Utah secondary through the air and got to do it again when Kansas' defense picked Dampier off near midfield, resulting in three points before the half.

But the Utes weathered the storm and got enough big plays from their defense, including a massive fourth down stop inside their own 1 yard line to suck the life out of the Jayhawks.

On Utah's third scoring drive of the game, Dampier tossed two underthrown balls that actually ended up benefiting the Utes as the receivers were run into as they tried to come back to the ball.

Had the first pass interference not occurred, it would have stalled Utah's drive. Instead, the Utes extended it twice as the Kansas cornerbacks never turned around to locate the ball.

If the corners had been able to turn around, both passes might have easily been picked off.

But, instead, they resulted in plus yardage for the Utes as Kansas head coach Lance Leipold was penalized with unsportsmanlike conduct — which he later said was not anger directed at the the officials — to decrease Utah's distance to the goal all the more, ultimately resulting in a short reception thrown to Noah Bennee in the end zone.

While the underthrown passes ended up assisting the Utes' drive, the throws were uncharacteristic of Dampier, who is generally an accurate passer, though he may be revealing his difficulty throwing long distances.

A heave eventually came back to the bite the quarterback as the Jayhawks turned an interception with about 30 seconds left before halftime into three points.

Dampier did clean up the throws in the second half, but too many underthrown ones like the first half, and corners will be sure to get their heads to the ball.

Wayshawn Parker got five touches in the first quarter as the Utes saw a fair amount of success running the offense through the speedy back.

He only had three touches in the second quarter as Kansas started to creep back in it.

Part of that was due to the Jayhawks' ability to contain the run with their defensive ends, who made their presence known throughout the night.

However, Utah did end up calling Parker's number in the second half and he ended with 16 carries on the night for 171 yards, including an 89-yard score to pretty much seal the win for Utah shortly after a massive fourth-down stop at their own 1-yard line.

Moving forward, one thing has to be clear to Morgan Scalley and his staff, get the ball to Parker. It does not matter if it is a handoff, a pass, pitch or a direct snap — he'll make something happen.

Utah's defense struggled but came up big enough in the end

To begin the game, Utah only allowed one first down by the Jayhawks in the first half up until nearly the last minute, when Kansas finally found a groove against a Utah defense that has not seen as successful a passing attack as Marshall and Kansas' in quite some time.

Whether not enough pressure from the defensive line, or some breakdowns covering Cam Pickett, who recorded 134 receiving yards on 14 targets, Kansas may have exposed something more teams will look capitalize on.

But despite the struggles in the second half, the Ute defense held the Jayhawk rushing attack to under 60 yards on the night and came up big to get the red zone stops they needed to put the visitors away.

After an overturned touchdown that put Kansas inside the 1, Utah's pressure managed to stop Marshall from turning the corner for a turnover on downs, which set up Parker's second touchdown of the night.

The Jayhawks' next drive saw them get stopped again in the red zone despite having a fresh set of downs after a pass interference call.

It may not have been the prettiest of nights for the Ute defense, but they managed to get the job done when it mattered most.