Utah’s defense tightened all its loose screws from its first three games of the season and was able to pull out a consistent four-quarter performance against Louisville on Sept. 26.
With a bye week after its 30-14 win over the Cardinals at home, the defense has had time to work on making that kind of performance a consistent one, as it prepares for its first conference test of the season.
Defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake said things are looking good defensively for Saturday’s conference kickoff against Colorado State and said the team used the time off to practice harder than usual.
“Last week, we practiced really hard and got after it…so I was happy with last week’s practices,” Sitake said. “So far, it’s going pretty good right now. We actually practice harder than we do normally (with a bye week), especially going into a conference game on Saturday. I think it went well.”
Head coach Kyle Whittingham is 4-0 after a bye week in his four years with the U, and his teams have won the past three meetings with the Rams.
Whittingham said Fort Collins, Colo., is never an easy place to play, much like Autzen Stadium in Oregon, where the Utes chalked up their first loss in 17 games. He said he expects to see the usual Ram intensity.
“It’s been a good series with those guys,” Whittingham said. “Fort Collins is a tough place to play, and we don’t expect this year to be any different.”
The Rams are coming off two straight losses at the hands of BYU and Idaho and are likely hungry for a win. BYU was Colorado’s first conference matchup of the season, losing 23-42 on the road. Colorado threw the ball more than BYU but was outworked in the run game and had trouble containing the Cougars on the ground.
The Rams’ close 29-31 loss at Idaho came as a surprise to many, but Whittingham said the loss wasn’t as big a shock as it might have seemed.
“They have a tough loss to Idaho, which I think is one of the most improved teams in the country, so it’s not as big an upset as it may appear,” Whittingham said in a press conference Monday. “Coach (Steve) Fairchild has done an outstanding job there, and he will have them ready to roll.”
Saturday marks the Rams’ Homecoming Game, and Sitake said he expects Colorado to throw out its very best against the Utes’ defense.
“Colorado State’s a good team; they’re well-balanced,” Sitake said. “They can run the ball and throw the ball, so they’re capable of making some big plays. We always just force the issue of getting turnovers and getting sacks.”
Allowing big plays was an issue in the first three games of the season, but Sitake said the defensive improvement made in the Louisville game was a huge step in the right direction when it comes to being assignment-sound.
Sitake said the Utes will keep pushing their goal to stop the run and force the pass against Colorado.
Senior defensive back Robert Johnson said he’s happy with how the Utes played defensively against Louisville, but said they’ve used the time off to tighten up even more for their first conference game.
“We haven’t played to our best ability yet,” Johnson said. “This week we’re going to try to put it all together and see how it works out.”
Kick-off is 4 p.m. on Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo. The game will be televised on The Mtn.
thien sok/The Daily Utah Chronicle Bilal Powell gets pushed out of bounds by Koa Misi and Stevenson Sylvester. The Utah defense put together a complete game against Louisville but still took the chance to practice extra hard during the bye week.