Does Utah have a strength this year that separates them from middle of the pack teams?
I know their QB has talent, but he isn't on an elite level at all. If you can't dominate teams in certain aspects of the game, you aren't going to go far.
To be fair, I've only watched a few quarters of Utah football this year, but nothing I saw has impressed me.
When watching BYU, you can tell teams have to change their game-plan just because of Hill. Does Utah have anyone like that on defense or offense?
When playing BYU, teams like Houston, UConn, and a Texas team missing 13 of their 22 starters has to game plan for Hill.
Utah has Bubba Poole, that Michigan forgot to game plan for. They have Nate Orchard. It looks like they have Gionni Paul (14 tackles, 1 INT, 1 FR vs Michigan, national defensive player of the week).
BUT, if you had to only pick one player, it would be Dres Anderson, Kaelin Clay or Nate Orchard.
So, I guess they have three players. So, yeah, Hill is impressive...if you are a mid major team.
Like it was mentioned before, with Utah's talent, and most P5 team's talent, Hill isn't as hard to defend. Their WR's aren't good enough to shed man to man coverage, and Hill isn't good enough to get them the ball. Put 8 men in the box, spy Hill with a Safety (btw, Carter, Utah's safety, could easily keep up with Hill. He beat DeAnthony Thomas in a track meet in high school), and let BYU try to move the ball.
Utah has one of the best receivers in the PAC-12 in Anderson.
Utah has the best return man on special teams in the country in Kaelin Clay.
Nate Orchard is on par with Hill on the whole "talent compared to other players in your position". Heck, Orchard is probably better, because he actually has an NFL career. Hill might be more on line with Gionni Paul.
As to your "aspects of the game" question, Utah has the best ST in the country. They scored 15 points against Michigan.
Utah consistently has one of the best DL in the country, and is leading the nation in sacks per game.
Utah has the third best QB in the country according to QB rating.
Utah is #5 in the country in points margin per game and 1st in the PAC-12 at over 30 points per game.
So, yeah, they have a couple of strengths.