Behind The Numbers: Mayor of ‘Sack Lake City’ Dominates

LARAMIE -- John Henry Daley only has one speed.

"He's all out, every single snap," head coach Kyle Whittingham said, referring to his 6-foot-4, 247-pound edge rusher. "He's a fun guy to be around."

Nate Geiger likely doesn't share that same enthusiasm for the Utah sophomore.

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Daley sits atop the leaderboard in the FBS with five sacks to his credit. He registered two of those Saturday night against Wyoming's left tackle in a 31-6 victory inside War Memorial Stadium.

It wasn't just stat padding, either. Both times he took down quarterback Kaden Anderson in the backfield it made a major impact on this outing.

They don't call him the mayor of "Sack Lake City" for nothing.

The initial sack came on a 3rd-and-10 with the Cowboys setting up shop at the 21-yard line midway through the first quarter. Daley busted out a spin move, leaving Geiger at a standstill. He eventually chased down Anderson for a 15-yard loss, forcing Wyoming right out of field-goal range and thwarting the lone legit scoring opportunity of the first half.

The second stop resulted in a takeaway.

Daley, who is the nephew of former BYU players David Nixon, Craig Bills and current New Orleans Saints tight end Taysom Hill, used his hands to blow past Geiger before reaching out and getting a mitt on the ball just as Anderson was set to throw.

Linebacker Lander Bardon pounced on that fumble at the Utes' 47 with 4:02 remaining in the second quarter.

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"I feel like I'm definitely getting more comfortable out there," said Daley, who capped this night in Laramie with a Pro Football Focus grade of 90.3, the highest mark on a Utah defense that allowed just 229 yards of total offense. "We've got amazing guys at every position on defense. When you have so many great players surrounding you, you can go out there and do some great things. That's what motivates me."

Daley, who began his college career in Provo back in 2023, finished with six tackles and added a pass breakup, helping lift the Utes to a 3-0 start and a No. 16 ranking in the Associated Press poll.

Here are some other PFF numbers from Saturday night's setback:

56.8

It's probably no surprise that Geiger earned the lowest overall grade Saturday of any starting offensive lineman. On 48 offensive snaps -- 23 run blocks and 25 pass attempts -- the sophomore from Highlands Ranch, Colo., allowed those two aforementioned sacks and a quarterback hit. Rough night at the office against a defensive end who will likely earn the title All-American by season's end.

84.6

Wes King was the Cowboys' most dependable pass blocker against the Utes, not allowing a single pressure on 18 attempts. His back-up at the left guard spot, Luke Sandy, landed in second on this unit with a grade of 83.9 on a dozen snaps. Anderson had an average of 2.77 seconds to throw, per PFF. At this level, typical times are anywhere from 2.5 to 3.0 seconds.

6

That's the number of pressures the Utes got on Anderson in this one, including three hurries. The sophomore signal caller completed just 12-of-23 throws for 108 yards and an interception. He also finished with that fumble.

45

That's the number of yards after catch the Cowboys finished with against Utah. Chris Durr Jr., who was the team's leading receiver with 40 yards on five grabs, led the way with 18. Durr was also the only wideout to force a missed tackle.

15

Wyoming has been a sure-tackling team through three weeks, including just two in a home win over Northern Iowa. One of those was credited to defensive end Esaia Bogar, who is playing with a cast on his right hand. Against Utah, though, that number jumped up to 15. Cornerback Dainsus Miller, who missed an assignment on a converted 3rd-and-21 in the third quarter, also whiffed on three tackles. Desman Hearns and Jones Thomas were credited with a pair of misses each, per PFF. The Utes only missed five tackles all night.

5

The Cowboys finished the night with this many total pressures on Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, including one sack, courtesy of nose guard Ben Florentine. He now has at least one QB takedown in all three games. Edge rushers Peter Eyabi and Bogar both had a hurry. So did defensive tackle Lucas Samsula.

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73.9

No surprise here. Florentine, who was on the field for 59 snaps Saturday night, was the highest-graded defensive player for the Cowboys. He capped that outing with three tackles -- two stops, which means "failure for the offense," according to PFF -- and a tackle for loss. Safety Andrew Johnson landed second at 71.1 on 75 snaps and linebacker Enoch Sibomana was third at 71.0 on 25 plays.

229

That's the number of yards Wyoming's offense was able to amass against this stout Utah defense. Only 108 of those came through the air. How rough was it for this unit? Nearly 90 of those came on the final two possessions of the night, including an 8-play, 75-yard drive that was capped with a 15-yard touchdown run by Terron Kellman. Utah, on the flipside, finished with 541 yards, 311 of which came on the ground.

8-of-36

That's what the Utes' defense has done on third down through three games. Wyoming managed to convert just 3-of-12 attempts and the average yardage to go on those snaps was nearly seven yards. Utah's offense was 9-of-15 on third down. They are tops in the nation in that category (32-of-45).

24:30

Wyoming's offense was on the field for just seven snaps in the third quarter. During that time frame, Dampier and Co. ran 29 plays, 19 of which came on a back-breaking touchdown drive that took 7:23 off the game clock. The Utes' offense was on the field for 86 total snaps. Wyoming, 57. The number above is the latter's time of possession. The visitors finished at 35:30.

7

Anderson and the offense finished this one with that many explosive plays, meaning runs of 10 or more yards and passes over 15. Six came on the ground. Samuel "Tote" Harris finished with three and so did Kellman. Harris, a true freshman, had a run of 28 in the fourth quarter. He also caught a 32-yard pass in the second. Utah landed 16 explosives, including a dozen in the rushing department.

4-of-5

Utah entered this one 11-for-11 in red-zone opportunities. All of those were touchdowns. The visitors found the end zone on all four second-half possessions Saturday night, but did get a blemish on that impressive stat line when wideout Nate Johnson was stripped inside the Cowboys' 20 late in the second quarter. Hearns was credited with the forced fumble. Andrew Johnson landed on the ball inside the 3-yard line.

2-1

That's now Wyoming's overall record as it heads down Interstate-25 next Saturday night to tangle with Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes. Kickoff inside Folsom Field is set for 8:15 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN.

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