Looking to make it three wins in a row to remain undefeated on the season, the University of Utah football team (2-0) will welcome in San José State (1-2) on Saturday, Sept. 16 to Rice-Eccles Stadium. This will be Utah’s final nonconference game, giving it the opportunity to clean up penalties and get the offense synced before Pac-12 play kicks off.
“They’re a spread team. Running backs are tough, hard-nosed guys. They’ve got a receiver that’s really fast,” said Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham. “Quarterback’s a big kid, a young kid, but big strong kid. So they’re a work in progress like everybody else. … They appear to be a lot of the same personal groups that we have and very similar in their approach.”
Penalties have been a common theme in Utah’s first two games of the season. Despite the season opening victory and its most recent 19-13 triumph over in-state rival, BYU, it has picked up 22 total penalties — 11 in each game — for a loss of 232 total yards.
“The common theme of the penalties seems to be on the perimeter,” Whittingham said. “We’re still sloppy with our hands on the outside. Meaning, we’re getting the hands outside the frame instead of keeping them tight.”
As the Utes will focus on reducing the amount of flags thrown on them, they will also work on improving the run game against the Spartans, who were shut out 56-0 in its most recent game against Texas. Quarterback Tyler Huntley is averaging 79.5 rushing yards per game and he has 37 carries for 159 yards plus three touchdowns, making him Utah’s leading rusher. Whittingham explained that the run game needs to be supplemented with running backs, and Saturday night should give Utah a chance to incorporate them more than they have been used up to this point in the season.
Wide receiver Darren Carrington II believes the offense is progressing, but he recognizes there are improvements that still need to be made.
“Right now, we’re at I think 50 percent with just learning the new offense,” Carrington said. “Our potential is out the roof. We have about seven that can go all day, and I mean our backups are just as good. Once we get everything rolling and limit the mistakes, I think we’re going to be one of the top groups in the nation.”
Carrington said against the Spartans, the Utes needs to come out with the mindset that nobody can stop them. He added that they must stay locked in and play their game. After competing in a fiery rivalry, Utah is hoping to avoid an emotional hangover.
“If we want to be great, it’s not only about beating the last team we played. It’s about winning every game,” said wide receivers coach Guy Holliday. “Great teams, they focus on the next game and they play just as hard. We can’t be overlooking anybody or satisfied. Heck, we haven’t played well on offense to our potential yet. So our focus is to show who we really are and not what we’re building to be.”
The Utes and Spartans will go head-to-head at 8 p.m. MT.
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