For the fifth-straight season, the No. 23 ranked University of Utah football team (3-0) finished its nonconference undefeated. Utah is now preparing to open its Pac-12 schedule on the road on Friday, Sept. 22 against Arizona (2-1).
“The three nonconference games are obviously very important. You want to play well and you want to come out of it ideally 3-0, which we were able to do this year,” said head coach Kyle Whittingham. “It’s not like a new season when Pac-12 play starts. But it’s certainly a different feel, I can tell you that.”
After its past matchup against San Jose State, Whittingham saw improvement from his team, but he knows that there is still work to be done. He wants to see his team progress even further as it dives into conference play by reducing the number of penalties they’re called for, upping the number of touchdowns made in the red zone, having more production and efficiency in the run game, as well as taking advantage of the kickoff return game.
Breaking into AP poll
For their first time this season, the Utes have found themselves ranked in the AP Poll at No. 23. Not only did Utah shift into that spot, but it also moved up three spots in the Coaches Poll to No. 21.
Other teams in the Pac-12 who are in the AP Top 25 are No. 5 USC, No. 7 Washington, No. 18 Washington State and No. 24 Oregon.
Arizona run game vs. Utah run defense
As Utah gears up for Arizona, it knows what it needs to do in order to take care of business on the road. It’s something it has struggled with time and time again — stopping Arizona’s run game. Whittingham said that’s why the Wildcats have been a challenge for the Utes in past years.
“Rich [Rodriguez] has got a great grasp of offensive scheme,” Whittingham said. “[He] knows exactly what he wants to do. It starts with the run game with those guys. They run the red zone as well as anybody in the country. They’ve got a quarterback, who’s an exceptional runner, the [Brandon] Dawkins kid.”
The Wildcats are ranked No. 6 nationally in rushing yards with 328 yards per game, but the Utes, on the other hand, head into the game ranked No. 2 in the nation when it comes to rushing defense with 49.3 yards per game.
While those numbers are proof of how each team is playing up to this point in the season, Whittingham pointed out a number that has historically proved to be what the team needs to really focus on. Whittingham said that when Utah has held Arizona to 150 rushing yards or less, Utah wins. When Arizona goes for more than 150 yards on the ground, Utah falls short of the victory.
“It’ll be fun to see what we can do,” said linebacker coach Justin Ena. “It’s always a challenge. It’s option football. Making sure that you’re taking care of your job. If you got 11 guys doing what they’re supposed to do, you should be fine. But if there’s a breakdown, you can pay the price.”
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