It’s not often that the first game in a season is a “must win,” but tonight’s opener against Utah State will be a make-or-break affair in Utah’s 2013 campaign.
To Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham’s distaste, the contest is against an Aggies squad that is much better than teams they have faced in recent years to kick off the season. Whittingham said at his weekly press conference on Monday that he would have preferred starting the season against an easier opponent, but he will not be so fortunate.
One good thing will come from playing a more difficult foe in the season debut, though. Since Utah State is not a Football Championship Subdivision squad like Northern Colorado and Montana State, the Utes’ first opponents the past two years, a clear picture of how good Utah really is will be painted early.
A season ago, against an inferior Northern Colorado squad, the Utes won 41-0, but it wasn’t a very pretty performance. The game was a precursor for what resulted in the first losing season of Kyle Whittingham’s head coaching career.
Against a good team like Utah State, who is coming off an 11 win performance in 2012 and returns one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Chuckie Keeton, the Utes’ strengths and weaknesses will be much easier to spot than they would be against a lesser opponent.
If the offense is as vastly improved under the direction of new co-offensive coordinator Dennis Erickson as players and coaches said during fall camp, it will be apparent on the field tonight. If the secondary is in as sorry shape as all signs during fall camp indicated, it will likely be easy to see against the Aggies.
In other words, we ought to have a pretty good idea after tonight’s contest whether or not the Utes have a shot at qualifying for a bowl game in 2013 or if it will be another season that ends in November. If Utah can’t beat Utah State this evening, there’s not much reason to believe it will be able to top even middle-of-the-road teams in the Pac-12, such as UCLA and Arizona, later on this season.
Not only would a loss demonstrate the weaknesses on the field, but losing to the Aggies for a second consecutive season would be a huge hit to Utah’s psyche, a hit that could be felt for weeks to come.
Expectations were high last year when some said the Utes would contend for the Pac-12 South crown and they fell short in achieving that feat. Partly because of 2012’s results, expectations are more modest this year, as Utah has been picked to finish fifth in the South division.
Tonight will go a long way in determining just how on-target those predictions are. Utah surely wants nothing more than to prove they are being sold short, but a loss could solidify the idea that this will be another long year in Salt Lake City.