The Utah football team is gearing up for a tough task on Saturday when it heads south to face the Arizona Wildcats. Even though Arizona hasn’t been as impressive as it has in past seasons, it still poses a formidable threat to the Utes and to head coach Kyle Whittingham, who has not beaten the Wildcats the last three years.
This losing streak included the Wildcats’ demolition of Utah last season — they pummeled a lifeless Utes team 42-10 on Senior Day. Whittingham does not expect that to happen again this Saturday, but is still getting his players up to speed before they leave for Tucson at the end of the week.
“We’re on track,” said Whittingham. “It’s still early in the week, being Tuesday, but with what I’ve seen at practice, so far so good.”
Utah is hoping to continue its trend of ending its losing streaks against other Pac-12 programs — which included wins over Washington and Oregon on the road, and defeating Arizona State for the first time in 11 tries.
Stopping the run game
One major key to Utah’s success this Saturday will be stopping the Wildcats’ running game, which has been one of the major contributions to their success against the Utes’ defense.
Three members of the Wildcats’ offense have more than 600 rushing yards this season, resulting in Arizona ranking 11th in the nation with its running game. The Utes will also be watching Wildcats’ quarterback Jerrard Randall, who has run for 683 yards on 70 carries of his own.
Whittingham knows what Arizona’s rushing convoy is capable of against his defense, and is not willing let the Wildcats run over his team like they’ve done before.
“[Arizona] put it on us the past three years in the running game,” said Whittingham. “That has been significant for them with our inability to stop them running the ball.”
But with how well Utah has been doing defensively this season, Whittingham believes they can stop them with their impressive turnover rate.
“We’re second in the conference in turnover margin,” said Whittingham. “We’re plus eight or nine on the season which is good. That’s going to be important in this game. We got to get the ball back for the offense in short-field situations like we did against Washington.”
Covey’s sensational season
True freshman slot receiver Britain Covey wants to continue his impressive season in this game against the Wildcats, who will be keen to stop his progress into the season’s freshman leaderboards. Covey has been a sensation for the Utes this season, and one of the main reasons the team is still at the top of the Pac-12 South.
He will also be hoping to end this season on top in stats before he departs on his LDS mission. With his performances so far, it just might happen. Covey leads the Pac-12 freshmen core in yards, yards per game and touchdown catches. He is also tied in receptions and receptions per game.
“It feels good to be on top,” said Covey. “Sometimes you step back and realize that all the hard work is paying off. In all honesty, most of the credit goes towards my teammates and coaches because they’re the ones that put me in those positions. It’s cool to take a step back and see what I’m doing this season.”
Most of his teammates are also thankful to have him on the game day roster week in and out, including quarterback Travis Wilson, who has been pleasantly surprised with how much Covey is helping the offense grab essential points.
“It’s surprising how explosive of a player he is,” said Wilson. “When he gets around the perimeter and gets the ball in his hands he’s really explosive. He makes plays when he gets the ball so that has really caught my eye.”
Covey hopes to continue his successful season this Saturday and is hoping to help the Utes grab an essential win in the desert.
@chad_marquez