Heading into the 2014 season, the number one goal for Utah had to be getting to the postseason. After two straight losing seasons, reaching a bowl game was vital for head coach Kyle Whittingham and company.
Now that the big showdown with Oregon is over, Utah has three games remaining in the season, and all three of them could be potential wins for the Utes. With Stanford, Arizona and Colorado coming in consecutive weeks, there’s no reason to believe Utah can’t win from here on out and finish the season with a 9-3 record, something I don’t think many people foresaw heading into the year.
With the number one goal being bowl eligibility, there has to be a worry for Utah fans that this team will get complacent. I mean, there are some BIG games left on the schedule, namely against the Cardinal and Wildcats, but I feel more stock was put into games that have passed, such as USC, ASU or Oregon.
Each one of those teams is great, and Utah fought hard in each game. However, it is time to move on and focus on the remaining games.
Before this week, there was always something more to compete for than just a win. In the first seven games of the season, it was all about qualifying for a bowl game. (It would have been six games if it wasn’t for a loss to Washington State at home, which is still the biggest shock of the season for me.) For those first seven games, the team was fighting to get past the regular season.
For the game against the Sun Devils, with bowl eligibility secured, it was a battle for the Pac-12 South division. Traveling to Tempe, Utah could have taken over the driver’s seat in the division, something that definitely provided a little extra motivation to the players and coaches.
And, of course, the Oregon game. I mean, do I really need to go through the reasons why the Utes had extra motivation in this one? The Ducks are a top-five team, have the leading Heisman candidate at quarterback and they’ve been dominant for years — everyone in the Pac-12 wants to beat the Ducks. Not to mention, they come out each game and “outswag” the opponent nearly every time.
Now the Utes will travel to Palo Alto to take on a struggling Stanford team. The Cardinal sit at 5-4 and are coming off of their worst loss of the season to Oregon two weekends ago. Sound familiar?
Utah no longer has to worry about reaching the magic number of six. No longer does it have a grip on the Pac-12 South, and the talk of busting the College Football Playoff is long gone.
The extra motivation for these players is absent, but the Utes need to make sure they stay hungry. Otherwise, a Stanford squad that holds opponents to 16.1 points — good for fourth in the nation — will take advantage.
This Utah offense has had its obvious struggles throughout the season and will need to perform well against a stout defense to leave California with a win.
 
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