As Utah football takes on Cal, the Utes are looking to go 5-0 while on the road.
The Utes are coming off of a 31-27 win against USC, but the players know they could have performed better. At one point the Utes were down by two touchdowns after the Trojans jumped out to a 24-10 lead. However, junior quarterback Troy Williams led the Utah offense down the field three times and threw the game-winning touchdown to senior wide receiver Tim Patrick.
The defense also stepped up after not blocking so well against either the run game or the passing game. What head coach Kyle Whittingham needs to see from his guys now is a complete game, but it doesn’t help that the Utes will be without junior Lowell Lotulelei.
However, Whittingham will rely on Chase Hansen to fill in the holes when necessary.
“He’s doing a great job in coverage, he’s physical and he’s exceeding my expectations,” Whittingham said. “I didn’t think he was going to be this good this early, and for him to be playing at the level he is right now with his limited experience, it’s amazing.”
Cal has a 2-2 record this season, and it dropped its first Pac-12 game to Arizona State. However, in each of their games this season, the Bears have managed to put at least 40 points on the board, and more importantly, they have been competitive every time they have been out on the field. The most points the Utes have scored this season was 34 against San Jose State.
Whittingham has enjoyed seeing Williams’ progression on the field, but against a high-scoring team like Cal, Whittingham needs his starting quarterback to not play to the Bears’ game — he wants Williams to remain patient in the pocket and have faith that defense will halt Cal from scoring as much as it typically does.
Patrick, on the other hand, isn’t afraid to go toe-to-toe with anybody in the conference, and he will do whatever is necessary to help his team get a win.
“We have a lot of confidence, we know what we’re capable of and we know what we have to do to win, and we know the only thing that can beat us is us,” Patrick said. “We’ve had some sluggish starts this year, but I don’t think we’ve played our best game yet, and that’s a scary sight.”
Much of the defense’s attention will be focused on Cal’s star wide receiver Chad Hansen. The redshirt junior already has 50 receptions this season (Utah’s Patrick is hoping to end the season with 50 catches overall). Chad’s receptions have accounted for 656 yards, and he has had six touchdowns through the first four games of the season. But since senior Dominique Hatfield is game ready, and he has one game under his belt, Whittingham is sure the defense will be ready to take him on.
Whittingham is nearing his 100th career win as a coach, but he isn’t thinking about that. He just wants his team to get its fifth win of the season.
Kickoff in Berkley is set for 3:00 p.m. PT.
@kbrenneisen