SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Auditor has finished its review of signature-gathering candidates after questions were raised about how they got on the primary ballot.

Auditor John Dougall’s office has concluded that it is “statistically likely each of these candidates met the statutory threshold of required valid signatures.” The auditor’s office looked at the campaigns of Governor Spencer Cox, Republican attorney general candidate Derek Brown and U.S. Senate candidate John Curtis after receiving numerous questions and complaints.

“Much has been said questioning the validity of signatures by voters who have previously requested to have their voter registration information protected. Therefore, we concentrated our efforts on analyzing a sample of those signatures,” Dougall’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

The auditor said his office concluded that not only had the candidates met the legal threshold, each campaign had time to gather additional signatures if they needed to meet the statutory threshold.

The auditor’s office continues to conduct a review of other election processes.

Republican candidate for governor Phil Lyman, who won the GOP convention nomination, lost the primary to Governor Spencer Cox, who gathered signatures to earn a spot on the ballot as Utah law allows. Lyman and others have raised questions and legal challenges surrounding signature-gathering candidates and whether it was proper. Lyman is currently running as a write-in candidate for governor.

Read the Utah State Auditor’s letter here:

SALT LAKE CITY – Head coach Kyle Whittingham and Utah Football turn their focus to week two and the Baylor Bears. This game will be a non-conference game but will also be Big 12 Homecoming weekend for the Utes and other members of the conference.

Week one provided Utah with a competitive environment to fine-tune execution before the competition increases in the coming weeks. The Utes scored 49 points while limiting the Thunderbirds to 0 on the scoreboard. They produced 513 yards total yards and gave up just 150 on the other side of the ball.

We’re on a bear hunt this 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞

🏟️: Rice-Eccles Stadium
⏰: 1:30PM MT
📺: FOX
📻: ESPN 700 AM / 92.1 FM#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/J8pjcqncIv

— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 2, 2024

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More importantly, it was a good welcome back for Cam Rising, Brant Kuithe, and the rest of the squad but now Utah Football’s season truly begins.

Utah Football preparing tougher test against Baylor Bears

If Utah’s week one contest against SUU was the welcome-back party, week two against the Baylor Bears is the reality check. This will be a much tougher matchup but more importantly, will provide a better picture of Utah’s potential this season.

“Much bigger challenge this week, we understand that,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Baylor is a good football team, they’ve got good personnel, and they’re extremely well-coached.”

“We have to prepare the right way all week long, just like we do every single week and be ready for a fight because that’s what it’s going to be.” Kyle Whittingham on the Baylor Bears

Quarterback Cam Rising had a pretty efficient performance in his return to action on Thursday. He also recognizes that this will be a more difficult contest but feels confident in the guys around him.

“I think they’re a very sound football team and I think they’re going to be (very improved) this year,” Rising said of the Bears. “It’s going to be a good game, we’ve just got to be ready to go for anything they bring at us.”

Utah needs more from the run game

This week will be much tougher competition. Utah has to maintain levels of efficiency & explosiveness while doing so against a better opponent. So, where can Utah make improvements going into week two?

“There were some things we could do better, as there is every single week,” Whittingham said. “I thought we ran the ball just ok. We had 185 yards rushing but we like to get that 5.0 yards a carry statistic and we were just shy of that.”

Top Five Takeaways From Kyle Whittingham’s Utah vs Baylor Press Conference

Utah’s run game should play a bigger role in the formula to success this weekend. The Bears finished as one of the worst defenses in all of college football last season. That has led to Dave Aranda taking over defensive coordinator duties, which could lead to schematic changes. Utah may need to rely on the run game if that’s what the defense dictates. At the very least, there will be a need for balance on offense as they figure out how to best attack the Aranda-led defense.

“It was a throw-first game plan, I thought we ran the ball efficiently,” Andy Ludwig said. “Southern Utah was fully committed to stopping the run with 9-man boxes, which created a lot of 1-on-1’s which we were able to exploit.”

Still, Ludwig was encouraged by what he saw from the rushing attack, particularly from the specific components of it.

“I was pleased with Mike Mitchell, what he showed. Dijon Stanley out of the backfield whether as a receiver or running the ball, he did a lot of good things. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Micah Bernard, Charlie Vincent, and Jaylon Glover. And I think the offensive line is really going to be something special on this football team.”

Cleaning up mistakes, continue on a positive trajectory

Not only is there a desire for an improved run game there is also a desire to simply play cleaner football. The Utes had 6 penalties for 55 yards as well as two interceptions, two fumbles- which they recovered, and gave up 9 pressures in pass protection (only 2 on Rising).

“I think procedurally we could be better, we had a series where just kept going backward, kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” quarterback Cam Rising said. “Whenever you have that it’s just bad business, bad ball, and you can’t really have a successful drive when you’re doing that over & over. And then cleaning up a few protections to make sure we’ve got it as tight as we can get it would be great.”

Well deserved, @MonterrenParks! 🙌#GoUtes https://t.co/ALm2SjErkj

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 3, 2024

Eliminating self-inflicted mistakes is traditionally a significant part of a team’s improvement after week one. However, tightening up pass protections going into week two will be critical for Utah. Pass protection wasn’t bad against SUU but it could’ve been better and needs to be better against Baylor.

“I think we need improvement in every area,” Ludwig said. “I think I said at the conclusion of fall camp that I was confident in the direction of the offense and the improvement that we’ve shown but in no way are we comfortable. We had good work today and look forward to another day of work tomorrow.”

Utah Football Schedule

Utah will be back in action against the Baylor Bears for week two on Saturday.  You can find Utah football’s conference schedule here.

Steve Bartle is the Utah insider for KSL Sports. He hosts The Utah Blockcast (SUBSCRIBE) and appears on KSL Sports Zone to break down the Utes. You can follow him on X for the latest Utah updates and game analysis.

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Utah opened the 2024 season with a 49-0 win over Southern Utah on Thursday. However, the good start came with bad news this week. Utes cornerback Kenan Johnson suffered a season-ending lower leg injury during the first half of the game.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham confirmed the severity of Johnson’s injury on Monday, noting that while Johnson’s season is over, there is a possibility for him to return next year if he chooses. Before his injury, the Georgia Tech transfer had recorded three tackles and was expected to be a key part of the defense.

In Johnson’s absence, Utah will rely on Smith Snowden, Cam Calhoun, and Scooby Davis to fill the void at cornerback. Snowden, who had been playing the nickel position, showed versatility and performed well on the inside. Davis, who grabbed an interception against Southern Utah, provided solid contributions, while Calhoun, a transfer from Michigan, is expected to be back in action this week. Whittingham mentioned that the coaching staff would evaluate different configurations in practice to determine the best setup moving forward.

Three takeaways from No. 12 Utah’s win over Southern Utah

On the offensive side, the return of quarterback Cam Rising and tight end Brant Kuithe was a highlight. The duo showcased their chemistry by connecting on three touchdown passes in the first half, underscoring their importance to the team’s success. Rising’s ability to find Kuithe in key moments was crucial and reaffirmed the dynamic nature of their partnership.

Additionally, freshman wide receiver Dijon Stanley emerged as a new offensive threat, recording three catches for 150 yards, including two long touchdown receptions. His performance added another dimension to Utah’s potent offense.

Looking ahead, Utah faces a tougher challenge as they prepare to host Baylor, a rematch of last season’s closely contested 20-13 victory in Waco. Whittingham acknowledged the need to elevate their play, as Baylor is a formidable opponent eager to avenge last year’s loss.