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The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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In the Huddle: Utes Hope to Learn from Mistakes in Fresno State in Preparation for Oregon

After Utah’s 45-24 win against Fresno State over the weekend, head coach Kyle Whittingham is happy to end the non-conference schedule undefeated, but he sees plenty of takeaways from the game.

Before going against the Bulldogs, Whittingham wanted to see his special teams take it up a notch, and that is exactly what happened on Saturday. Cory Butler-Byrd had a kick return for a touchdown and was named Pac-12 special teams Player of the Week. Britain Covey followed that up with a punt return for a touchdown on the following possession.

“Our special teams really came alive,” Whittingham said. “Finally starting to see some momentum-type plays.”

There were a couple of mistakes that cannot be overlooked, however. After fumbling the opening kickoff and not recovering an onside kick, the Utes will have their hands full in practice this week.

While the special teams has seen improvement, Whittingham wants the same type of improvement from his defense. Although the group put up a strong front throughout most of the game — holding Fresno to three points through three quarters — it gave up three touchdowns in the fourth.

Whittingham is not going to accept this type of play in the future and needs his players to sustain their energy throughout the entire game, no matter the score.

“We got sloppy defensively in the fourth quarter, gave them 21 points, which was ridiculous,” Whittingham said. “We had the game well in hand, then we decided to back off, which was disappointing.”

Building trust in the quarterback and wide receivers

Utah won’t know who will be behind center until either Wednesday or Thursday, according to Whittingham. For now, the team is going to focus on giving both quarterbacks reps in practice and will keep its eyes on senior Travis Wilson and how he is progressing with his recent shoulder injury.

Should Kendal Thompson play, or start, for that matter, Whittingham trusts his decision-making, despite the turnovers he had against Fresno State.

“He kept his poise, didn’t really get rattled after the interception,” Whittingham said. “He was able to bounce back.”

Whittingham has faith in whoever is going to start, but what he needs them to have the same type of faith in who they are throwing to.

Kenneth Scott has not made the big plays this season that Ute fans were hoping for, and this is partly because defenses are keeping him in check. But Whittingham does not think this should be a factor.

“He’s great with a contested ball, so even when he’s covered, you can throw it to him and good things will happen,” Whittingham said. “We got to trust him to make those plays and do a better job of getting him those opportunities.”

Tight end Siale Fakailoatonga thinks the offense has not yet shown what it can accomplish, and said the passing game will be key to beating the Ducks.

“We still haven’t played our best game,” Fakailoatonga said. “Next week is the time to show up and become more productive.”

Switching attention to Oregon

The entire Utah football squad knows a lot is riding on its upcoming match this weekend at Oregon. It’s the conference opener, and it can really set the tone for the rest of the season.

The Utes are not favored to win in Eugene, but Fakailoatonga not only embraces this fact, he loves it.

“I think winning this game will definitely put us on the map because we’re always usually the underdogs,” Fakailoatonga said.

Every player and coach is confident that Utah has what it takes to get a win at Autzen Stadium. It will be a tough road trip for the team, but you can bet that Whittingham will properly prepare the Utes to be at the top of their game come Saturday.

“Big challenge for our football team, big opportunity for our football team,” Whittingham said. “Oregon’s loaded with talent, just as they are every year, so we’ll need to be at our best this week when we go on that trip.”

[email protected]

@kbrenneisen

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