The Utah Tech University football team fell to 0-3 this season, losing to Northern Arizona University 45-17.
Throughout the game, the Trailblazers struggled to find their rhythm on both sides of the ball. Northern Arizona was physical on the line of scrimmage, forcing pressure on the Trailblazers quarterbacks and giving them little time to throw.
Offensively, Northern Arizona was also very physical on the line of scrimmage. They ran for 339 rushing yards on 44 carries, averaging 7.7 yards per rush. Darvon Hubbard led the way on the ground for Northern Arizona, rushing for 130 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
“Our offensive line wasn’t able to give the quarterback a lot of time to get rid of the ball or create many holes to get through to run the ball,” spectator Hunter Cutchen, a junior business management major from Albuquerque, New Mexico, said.
The Trailblazers offense struggled to create openings for their running backs, as they were held to 25 rushing yards in the first half.
“I feel like our run game needs to be opened up more because if we aren’t able to pass the ball we need to be able to run the ball so it opens up the field for our passing game,” spectator Matthew Snarr, a freshman mechanical engineering major from Draper, said.
Quarterback Deacon Hill started the game 3-6 before he left the game with an injury. Redshirt freshman Reggie Graff did show some promising signs late in the game, showing his ability to run the football while also throwing his first career touchdown pass.
“Reggie provided a spark for us. He does a great job running the football and also is getting much more consistent as a passer,” Lance Anderson, Utah Tech head football coach, said.
Graff finished the game 9-17 with 100 yards and a touchdown while adding 58 yards rushing.
Early in the game, both teams traded field goals before Northern Arizona scored on four consecutive drives to take a 31-3 lead at halftime.
The halftime break did not change much as Northern Arizona came out and scored on their first two drives. Northern Arizona quarterback Ty Pennington was responsible for four total touchdowns, throwing and rushing for two each.
The Trailblazers found the end zone for the first time on a four-yard rushing touchdown by Nygel Osborne with 9:39 left in the fourth quarter and scored again with less than a minute left on a 23-yard pass from Reggie Graff to Tru Tanner.
As Utah Tech is in their first official season as a Division I program, Coach Anderson is aware of the long road ahead and the obstacles they must overcome to get where they want to be.
“There are a lot of things in this program that need to change and need to be done better,” Anderson said. “There are a lot of obstacles that we need to overcome that are going to be difficult to do soon.”
The Trailblazers will look to get their first win of the season as they travel to play the University of California, Davis Sept. 21.
