Utah needed to create some good vibes for itself Saturday at home against Cal.

Coming off a 21-7 loss to Oregon State and then a bye week, the 16th-ranked Utes weren’t as healthy as they hoped to be. Quarterback Cam Rising remained sidelined. And the offense came out of the gates a little off-kilter through its first two possessions without him.

But the Utes (5-1, 2-1 Pac-12) scored touchdowns on three of the next four to run away from Cal (3-4, 1-3 Pac-12) and secure a 34-14 win. In the process, a new star emerged.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Run game recovers

Utah lost Chris Curry earlier this week, which meant the running back position was looking as thinned out as the quarterback spot.

Ja’Quinden Jackson had been hurt for weeks. Micah Bernard was already out. Jaylon Glover was looking like the last man standing.

Saturday against Cal, Glover had six rushing attempts for 12 yards and Utah ran for 317 yards.

Jackson made his return to the field and looked like his usual punishing self. He ran for 94 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

Sione Vaki, a sophomore safety who entered the game leading the defense in tackles, led the Utes in rushing. Not a misprint. Vaki had a wildcat rushing touchdown. Utah tried to find him on a wheel route in the pass game early. And he took a direct snap 72 yards to the house in the fourth quarter to put the game to bed.

Vaki finished with 158 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Utah needed some life on offense. Without Cam Rising, it has been a grind to get anything going. Bryson Barnes started in place of Rising against Cal, and though he wasn’t really able to ignite things through the air, Utah did enough with creative and aggressive play-calling to give its ground game some room to run.

What becomes of Vaki’s role?

The breakout player of the game started every game at safety this season. He entered the day leading the defense in tackles. And he still finished Saturday’s game with four tackles.

What does Utah do with him going forward?

Do you pull him off the defensive side in order to stick with something that is clearly worth exploring on offense? Do you let him play both ways and risk tiring him out? Utah has been depleted this year by injuries, and it might be leary to take a promising player and put even more of a physical burden on his shoulders.

But Vaki’s role is very much a question going forward. He was too good as a runner to not keep going to that well.

We’ll see what UW does.

Defense enjoys that home cooking

Utah didn’t exactly limit Jaydn Ott — 46 yards on eight carries, 48 yards through the air, one touchdown — but it also didn’t let anyone else beat them.

Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza struggled, with 10 completions on 17 attempts for 149 yards and two scores against an interception. Ben Finley replaced him in the fourth quarter and completed five of his 14 passes for 39 yards.

Cal produced just 254 yards of offense and 14 points a week after going for 448 and 40 against Oregon State.

The Utes sacked Cal five times and forced two turnovers. Those giveaways led to 14 Utah points. In the second half, Cal ran 34 plays and gained just 111 yards (3.3 a play).

It wasn’t the best performance we’ve seen from the Utah defense this season but, given the circumstances, Utah just needed a return to form. Mission accomplished.

Bonus

The targeting call on Cole Bishop was atrocious. And it’ll plant him on the bench for the first half of an important game next week at USC. Utah will almost certainly appeal the call, but it shouldn’t need to.