Rejoice, college football fans — it’s finally here.
The speculation and over-eagerness of spring ball is long gone. The torturously uneventful summer months are behind us, and fall is right around the corner. Football has returned, and Utah will once again host a Thursday afternoon kickoff on the first day of the 2014 season, today, when the Utes welcome the Idaho State Bengals to Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Idaho State brings with them the burden of a 44-game road losing streak as well as a 0-6 all-time record against Utah. The Utes, on the other hand, have an all-time record of 52-19-1 in home season openers as well as an unblemished 36-0 record against opponents from the Big Sky Conference, including a 70-7 beat down of instate rival Weber State last year.
While the Utes’ records and scores against Big Sky members, like the Bengals, have been lopsided to say the least, head coach Kyle Whittingham said his team won’t sleep on the visitors from Pocatello.
“We treat every opponent with respect,” Whittingham said. “Every year there’s an FCS team pulling an upset. It’s not that uncommon, so you better be ready to play well and execute.”
When it comes to the game plan for tonight, Whittingham said he wants his team to be “sound, simple and systematic,” building on every down and series on both sides of the ball. When it comes to the Utes’ new offense, Whittingham made it known that speed is the name of the game.
“Tempo would be one of the operative words,” he said. “We’re certainly going to be snapping the ball more quickly than in years past. We’ve got to be more efficient in the throw game — the last couple years we have not come anywhere near the numbers we need to be at … we’ve got to be much better in that regard.”
Offensively, the Utes look to be in great shape, as junior quarterback Travis Wilson will have a complete arsenal of offensive weapons to use at his disposal, including Belitnikoff Award (awarded to the nation’s finest receiver) finalist Dres Anderson, junior wide receiver Kenneth Scott (who missed almost all of last season due to injury), senior tight end Westlee Tonga and junior running back Bubba Poole. Wilson will also have a seasoned offensive line in front of him, anchored by senior left guard Junior Salt and junior left tackle Jeremiah Poutasi.
“For this offense to work, we’ve got to gain yards on every play,” Wilson said about the Utes’ new offense. “This whole fall camp, our offense has been doing a great job, especially going against our defense. I think they’ve done a really good job of getting positive yards and not taking any losses.”
The offense will also look to receive a boost from talented newcomers and youngsters, including former Oklahoma transfer quarterback Kendal Thompson, receivers Delshawn McClellon and Tim Patrick, and running backs Devontae Booker, Troy McCormick and Dre’Vian Young.
Unfortunately, the Utes will be fielding a defense that is a bit banged up with the loss of sophomore corner Reginald Porter for the season, as well as linebackers Gionni Paul and Jacoby Hale, who could be missing from the lineup for the first few weeks of the season.
The strength of the Utes’ defense will once again be the defensive line as senior left end Nate Orchard and company look to ravage opposing offensive lines. The right end of the line should be full of energy with co-starters Hunter Dimick and Jason Fanaika switching out for each other. The nose tackle spot is still being fought for by junior Clint Shepard, senior Sese Ianu and freshman Lowell Lotulelei.
This year’s secondary has a mix of seniors and freshmen who are eager to stop the seemingly endless array of prolific passing attacks in the Pac-12. Defensive captain and senior safety Brian Blechen wants to put up big numbers in his final season but also be an example to the up and comers in the secondary.
“I want to be someone who can make those tackles, make big plays and get some interceptions,” Blechen said. “We’ve got some young guys in the secondary and young corners too … I want to be the guy in the secondary to get them in the right spots, trust the calls, make the adjustments and get that secondary clicking and in a good rhythm.
After a season in which the Utes were only able to force three interceptions in 2013, Blechen also wants his secondary to make the most of their ball-hawking opportunities.
“There’s going to be chances in this game, the big thing for us is to start off on the right note and don’t have any dropped picks or dropped fumbles. We just want to play fast, play smart and fly around.”
Finally, we come to the winner of many a college football game, special teams play. When the offense stalls, 2013 first team all-Pac-12 punter Tom Hackett will once again be looked upon to pin opponents deep in their own end. When the offense gets past the opposing 40-yard line, former freshman All-American, sophomore phenom and special teams captain Andy Phillips will be called into action on the field goal unit. Phillips finished last season 17 of 20 on all field goal attempts including a nine for 11 mark on field goals 40 yards or longer.
For fans still looking to find seats for tonight’s game, there have been rows of bleachers added to the standing-room-only sections of the east, west and north sides of the stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MT.
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