The last time the University of Utah football team (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) and Stanford (3-2, 2-1 Pac-12) went head-to-head was in 2014, but on Saturday, Oct. 7 the two will meet once again. Despite a few years passing between then and now, head coach Kyle Whittingham still sees similar characteristics in this year’s Cardinal team compared to past groups.
“Typical Stanford team, physical, smash-mouth on offense,” Whittingham said. “They’re averaging nearly eight yards a play as an offense so they’re very efficient. They do what they do very well. They’re not a fast tempo team, they’re not snapping the ball a bunch of times, but they’re doing their M.O. that they’ve used for a lot of years, and it’s very successful for them.”
From what Whittingham has noticed, Stanford head coach David Shaw is running things parallel to two years ago when Utah traveled to Stanford Stadium.
“He knows exactly what he wants to do on offense,” Whittingham said. “It appears that he’s still calling the plays, and he’s got a great grasp and belief in what he does and it works. Every year they’re competitive and every year they’re right up there battling for the conference title.”
Heading into this weekend’s matchup, the No. 20 ranked Utes are coming off a bye week, but the week prior, they earned their first Pac-12 road win of the season against Arizona to remain undefeated. As for the Cardinal, they enter the contest having won back-to-back games against UCLA and Arizona State at home.
The South division leader will have its defense tested this weekend when Bryce Love steps foot on the field. The Stanford running back has surpassed the 1,000 rushing yards mark (1,088) on 87 carries, just five games into the season. Whittingham said he is a “tremendous running back,” and Utah’s game plan to stop Love is as follows.
“First of all, you got to be gap sound, that’s where rush defense begins is being sound with your run fits and your gap control,” Whittingham said. “You got to gang-tackle this kid. He’s not going to go down with an arm tackle.”
Whittingham was quick to add that Love is a physical runner, but part of the reason why he’s able to take off down field is because of his offensive line creating opportunities for him to be let loose thanks to their blocked yardage. Against the Sun Devils, Love had three touchdowns, from 43, 59 and 61 yards out. The Utah secondary could be heavily relied on throughout portions of the game if Love’s speed carries him to the third level like it has been doing.
While Utah has been preparing to face the Stanford run game, it has also been trying to get healthy for Saturday night. It hasn’t been announced if the injury stricken Utes from the Arizona game — among them is quarterback Tyler Huntley — will see playing time this weekend. Nonetheless, Whittingham said Utah needs to make sure to keep its offense on the field and the Stanford offense on the sideline. With Huntley as the leader of the offense, but questionable for the ballgame, quarterback Troy Williams may have that responsibility on his shoulders.
“I go into every game prepared myself as if I’m a starter,” Williams said. “If that’s the case, then I just embrace it and continue to try to be a leader for my team, which is to help us get a win.”
Kickoff for the homecoming game is at 8:15 p.m. MT at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
@Britt_Colindres