Trap game.
These two words have ruined many a college football season and have crushed the dreams of millions of players hoping to call themselves conference or national champions.
For the Utes, the next step in their comeback season is to not fall victim to the dreaded trap game.
After a hard-fought, impressive victory against Michigan in Ann Arbor that saw takeaways, great special teams and a long weather delay, the Utes will welcome the Washington State Cougars to Rice-Eccles Stadium before they travel to the Rose Bowl Stadium to take on Pac-12 South favorite UCLA.
Therein lies the trap the Utes must avoid.
Washington State is coming off of an extremely disappointing 38-31 home loss to second-ranked Oregon. The Cougars’ air-raid offense, schemed by head coach Mike Leach and led by quarterback Connor Halliday, threw for 436 yards and four touchdowns. But the Cougars were unable to stop Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota, who threw for 329 yards and five touchdowns on the day.
On Monday, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham talked about the Washington State game and made it clear that while they haven’t gotten off to a great start, the Cougars are a scary team to face.
“First of all, very prolific on offense,” Whittingham said of Washington State. “They’re averaging nearly 500 yards a game throwing the football, which is tremendous. Halliday is an exceptional quarterback. He really did some good things against us last year, and they took the Ducks right down to the wire. I know they’re sitting at 1-3, but they’re dangerous. They have weapons, and they’re a very good football team.”
Utah played valiant defense against Michigan. That said, they were playing against a pro-style offense that focused on running the ball, and the Wolverines did not have fantastic playmakers at receiver other than Devin Funchess, who had four receptions for 82 yards. Washington State, however, will come into Salt Lake City and do what they’ve done the past three seasons: throw, throw and throw some more.
Junior defensive end Jason Fanaika said pressuring the quarterback will be the focus of this week’s practice, as well as the defensive goal during the game.
“We need to get pressure on the quarterback and give ourselves the opportunity that we’ll need so that our secondary can make plays on the ball,” Fanaika said. “That pressure is going to be key this week, especially knowing how much they throw the ball. Their quarterback makes a lot of good reads. If the big play’s not there, he will drop it off to his running back.”
On the other side of the ball, sophomore offensive tackle J.J. Dielman said that keeping junior quarterback Travis Wilson safe will be the primary factor to keep the offense playing the way it has been.
“What I noticed is that Washington State’s front got after the quarterback. We’ve got to focus on protecting our quarterback,” Dielman said. “As an offense, we’re going to have to score a lot of points, especially because of the league we’re in, so we have to protect him.”
Wilson knows the importance of beating the Cougars on Homecoming night and will not take them lightly after the 49-37 defeat they handed the Utes last year in Pullman, Wash.
“It’s great to be 3-0, but our next goal is to be 4-0. That should be the mindset for everyone on this team,” Wilson said. “I think everyone is focused, and everyone is going to prepare the way we need to for this game. We’re definitely not going to take this game lightly at all. Everyone has got to be on the same page and the same mindset as any other week.”
The Utes will host the Washington State Cougars this Saturday, Sept. 27 at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. MT.
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