Utah Football lost their fourth straight on Saturday in a demoralizing loss to Houston, 14-17.
First Half
After struggling mightily to move the ball early on in games for a majority of this year, Utah opened up tonight with a screen pass to Brant Kuithe that he would take 71 yards to the house, opening up an early 7-0 lead for the Utes. With the redzone woes that Utah has encountered so far this year, an explosive play to start things off was just what new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakain needed to jumpstart this team.
Despite a promising first drive, Isaac Wilson and the offensive unit were held in check throughout the rest of the first half, finishing with two punts, a Wilson fumble and two Cole Becker missed field goals. A switch at offensive coordinator brought a change of scenery for the Utah faithful, but the first half felt eerily similar to the performances from the last few weeks.
Defensively, the Utes came out with their usual dominance at the line of scrimmage and ability to get off the field at will, but a short Utah punt set up Houston with great field position that they were able to take advantage of, tying up the game 7-7 early in the second quarter.
Neither team could gain an edge throughout the remainder of the second quarter as the two teams headed into halftime tied up at seven points apiece. Things would need to drastically change offensively if the Utes wanted to head back to Salt Lake City victorious.
Second Half
The Utah defense has been playing lights out so far this year, and that continued into the second half as a goal line stop on fourth down by Lander Barton and an interception by Jonathan Hall gave the Utah offense life. Following the Hall interception, Micah Bernard was able to punch it in on a 14-yard run, giving Utah a 14-7 lead.
The storyline of the game, however, was Brandon Rose taking over at quarterback after the first two offensive drives of the first half for Utah. Rose came in and was able to give Utah a momentum boost in a game where points have been hard to come by.
Utah’s defense had held strong for a majority of this outing, but a lapse in coverage with 8:35 remaining in the game allowed Houston to take a slant to the house, tying this ballgame up at 14-14.
Quarterback struggles are the story over the last two years for Utah, and unfortunately that theme remained consistent as Rose, with 2:00 to go in the game, threw a crucial interception, giving the Cougars excellent field position and a chance to win the game.
With no time remaining, Houston was able to knock in a 43-yard field goal, handing Utah their fourth straight loss in heartbreaking fashion. The Utes offensive struggles have plagued them for weeks, and that was a key contributor in tonight’s loss.
Analysis
The stand-out performance for this match against the Cougars proved to come from the Utah defense. Barton led the way with tackles, nabbing 12 total with 11 of those being solo. Eight Utes total had at least four tackles, putting up a wall that was tough for Houston to break.
In terms of offense, Utah struggled in a manner that fans are now all too familiar with. Wilson claimed only 171 passing yards, going 13 of 22 before he was subbed out for Rose in the second half. The sophomore put up even less, going 7 of 15 for only 45 yards.
The Utes struggled yet again in the Red Zone, creating only two opportunities, one of which turned into a touchdown. Though this aspect is an improvement from the zero red zone attempts against TCU, it is still not where the Utes want to be in terms of scoring opportunities.
Though it was another hard loss for the Utes, Kuithe had himself a distinguished night in a number of areas. The tight end’s touchdown at the beginning of the night slid him into third place in all-time career receiving touchdowns for Utah, with 21 now to his name. Kuithe also sits in third place for career receptions, racking that number up to 179. To top it off, he is also the first tight end, and third Ute overall, to reach 2,364 receiving yards in his career. With only a handful of games left during his time at Utah, Kuithe has cemented his name in Utah Football history, and will leave behind an admirable legacy for the program.
After a month straight of tough-to-swallow losses for the Utes, the team will get some extra rest during their bye week, before they welcome Holy War rival BYU to Rice-Eccles Stadium on Nov. 9.
