Utah survived a scare from the USC Trojans on Friday night at Rice Eccles Stadium, and the Utes came away with a 31-27 win thanks to a game winning touchdown pass from Troy Williams to Tim Patrick.
Head coach Kyle Whittingham was especially impressed with the poise and confidence Williams played with the entire game, and thinks a quarter of the way into the season he is really starting to solidify that role as a leader.
“Proud of the way our guys handled their business, handled adversity, [and they] kept fighting,” Whittingham said. “It was a great effort from our players, particularly on offense. Troy Williams was lights out the last few drives, and it was good to get the win. Got off on the right foot to Pac-12 play.”
While the Utes have an overall record of 4-0, things didn’t go according to plan against the Trojans. The defense struggled with the pass game and the run game, so Whittingham will be putting a lot of emphasis on that area as the team prepares to take on a high-scoring team in Cal.
One thing that did go right for the team was its fourth down conversions. The Utes decided to go for four 4th downs, and they converted all of them. Two of those conversions came on the Utes’ final drive of the game, and Whittingham said he went his gut when he decided to leave his offense out on the field.
“It’s more of a gut feeling than anything else,” Whittingham said. “We were controlling the line of scrimmage, and to me it was a no-brainer.”
Running back update
The Utes are ranked No. 18 in the most recent AP Poll, but like always, the Utes are focused on other things leading up to Saturday’s game.
Zack Moss nearly cost the Utes seven points on Friday night after he fumbled the ball in the endzone, but lucky enough for him and the entire Ute squad, offensive lineman Isaac Asiata fell on top of it to score the touchdown. As ball security continues to be an issue for the Utah running backs, the coaches are going to continue to rotate through Moss, Troy McCormick and Armand Shyne until someone can firmly handle the job.
“I think we’re still a work in progress in that position,” Whittingham said. “As long as we get production from all three, all three will continue to do the carries. And if one starts to separate themselves, then we’ll gravitate towards them.”
Cal’s Hansen
Cal’s star wide receiver Chad Hansen is leading the nation in receptions with 50 through four games, and to put that more into perspective, Utah’s Tim Patrick is hoping he’ll end the year with 50 receptions altogether.
Hansen is also second in the nation with 656 receiving yards. Utah knows covering him will be a tall task not only because of his stature, but because of his ability, so the cornerbacks will be working to sharpen up their coverage.
“He’s got tremendous body control; he can catch the ball as well as anybody I’ve ever seen,” Whittingham said. “He’s got some size to him, and he’s a fierce competitor, and he’s able to control his body and make catches with his feet down. And he’s got a knack for the 50-50 ball.”
@kbrenneisen