Utah gets the job done every year. But outside of the region and fan base, nobody seems to know or care.
It’s an early summer morning in August. Utah head football, Kyle Whittingham, is sitting in his office in Salt Lake City. He’s figuring out how to attack practice with his football team.
Courtesy: The Open Man
The season starts in about a week-and-a-half and he has FCS North Dakota coming into Rice-Eccles Stadium. It would be easy to look past North Dakota and focus on Week 2 opponent, BYU in Provo.
But fortunately for Utes’ faithful, Whittingham doesn’t operate that way. He’ll cross the bridge to BYU when the time is right.
It’s the right approach, too, and it’s one reason why Utah is a national contender.
Entering his 13th season as the Utes’ head coach (combination of Mountain West and PAC-12 conference competition), Utah has won a remarkable 103 games (9.5 a season) and has an incredible 9-1 record in bowl games.
Teams the likes of Alabama and Ohio St. can brag about having a record like that, but those programs are considered national powerhouses. Utah is not.
I challenge the average fan to name five–or even fewer–current players on Utah’s 2017 roster. Even the most engaged fans won’t be able to do that.
The sad reality is that Whittingham gets the job done every season. But neither he nor the Utes get proper credit. Why? The answer is simple: there’s no glitz or glamour in the brand of football Utah plays.
Courtesy: University of Utah Athletics
Utah isn’t going to light up the scoreboard with 40 points a game. The QB isn’t going to throw the ball 55 times for 450 yards.
What Utah does is dominate — on both sides of the ball. And Utah doesn’t beat itself.
College football experts will probably say the same thing this year that they’ve been saying for the past five years: “They’ve been winning games with smoke and mirrors, but they’ll definitely take a step back this year.”
Guess what? You’ve been wrong before and you’re wrong now. It’s time to give credit where credit is due.
This year’s team has to replace 4 of 5 offensive linemen, including 1st Round draft pick, Garrett Bolles. Last year’s leading RB, Joe Williams, has also departed. And, oh yeah, 3 of their top 4 WR’s are out of the mix.
With those losses, it’s good to have a veteran quarterback. The Utes have that in Troy Williams. Some would say that Williams had an up and down campaign last season. But let’s face it: when it mattered most, Williams came through. Case in point is the win over USC.
It’s defense, though, that has defined success in Salt Lake City. The Utes are tough and physical up front. They make you work for every yard. And while this year’s team is going to be young and inexperienced on the backside, it will be loaded up front.
To counter inexperience in the secondary, you may see Utah employ a defense with 3-4 linebackers on the field at the same time. Leading sack man, Hunter Dimick, is back in the fold (14.5 last season), and he should pick right up where he left off.
All of this said I’ll make the same bet I’ve made for years. If you’re a non-hard core college football fan–and only have the opportunity to watch a handful of games a season– you’re not likely to tune into to see the Utes play. But that’s not where I stand. I could watch Utah play every single week.
Why? They play the game the right way. We have Coach Whittingham is to thank for that. His success tells you that ground-and-pound football, coupled with an occasional play action, will win college football games. 103 wins in 12 seasons … that says it all.
