Brian Johnson is not perfect.
But heading into the final two weeks of the regular season, his football team’s record is and it has a lot to do with what the senior quarterback has been able to do, particularly in the fourth quarter.
“It’s just a mentality that I have,” Johnson said.
Twice on Thursday night, at home, with his team down late against a formidable opponent, Johnson has orchestrated three near-flawless drives to lead his team to victory. With two minutes and 11 seconds left against Oregon State back on Oct. 2, Johnson led the Utes on a must-have 80-yard touchdown drive, and then converted the ensuing 2-point conversion with less than a minute remaining to erase an eight-point Beaver lead. Johnson went 4-for-4 on the drive for 60 yards, giving Utah the momentum in what looked to be certain overtime. But when Utah’s defense held Oregon State to a three-and-out in just 23 seconds, it set the table for yet another impressive drive for Johnson. Utah’s fifth-year senior drove the ball 31 yards through the air on 3-of-4 passing to set up the game-winning field goal for fellow senior Louie Sakoda.
Utah’s offense, however, has been criticized since then, and as the face of the Utah offense, Johnson has received the brunt of it. Despite a 65.9 percent completion percentage, a nearly 2-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and a passer rating of 139.68, Johnson has not found overwhelming support.
Naysayers point to his 10-for-19, 110-yard performance against Wyoming (in hurricane-like wind conditions) and his 23-for-32, 195-yard performance in a 13-10 win against New Mexico. After games, Johnson is the first person to admit his part in mistakes. Against the Lobos, it was his interception on an underthrown ball to Freddie Brown in the endzone that was the difference between a comfortable win and a nailbiter. After throwing six interceptions through the first six games of the season, and turning the ball over another four times on fumbles, Johnson has thrown just two picks since then to go with his five touchdowns.
That didn’t stop the smattering of boos, however, when Johnson passed for a mere 165 yards through the air on 17-for-30 passing before leading Utah to another rousing last-minute victory against TCU.
“First of all, I don’t know how you’d ever boo the home team,” Johnson said. “They deserve a show, but at the same time, we’re out here to win a football game for the team and the bottom line is all that matters.”
With ice in his veins, Johnson orchestrated a nine-play, 80-yard drive, which included an impressive 11-yard strike to Brown on fourth-and-5, putting Utah at the TCU 15-yard line. Two plays later, Johnson hit Brown on a 9-yard slant route to give Utah the lead with 42 seconds remaining.
“I go out there and try to perform and the pressure really doesn’t get to me,” Johnson said. “I kind of thrive on adversity and just try to go out there and make plays.”
Johnson has since been named as one of five finalists for the 2008 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given to the nation’s top senior quarterback.
“It’s an unbelievable honor for me,” Johnson said. “To be with those other four quarterbacks, it’s something that’s very special to me. Hopefully I can pull it out in the end.”
Johnson, however, is far from satisfied.
“This team will not overlook this opponent (SDSU) and we’re going to win a piece of the Mountain West Conference championship,” Johnson said.
While Johnson is obviously looking forward to having a good game and “warm weather,” his primary goal is improving his team’s record to 11-0.
“We just want to win,” Johnson said. “People can say what they want about the entire season, but we’re winning football games. We’re 10-0. People are still not giving us the respect we deserve at 10-0. We’ve won 10 football games in 10 tries. There’s a lot to be said about that.”
Lucas IsleyDespite criticism of Brian Johnson, he has recently been nominated as one of the five finalists in the nation’s top senior quarterback award, the 2008 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.