Can Utah fix what broke the running game? – Desert News

Many of the issues that affected Utah last time I entered a farewell week nearly a month ago — quarterback questions, red zone runs and missed tackles — continue to plague the Utes in the second bye week of the 2024 season.

Understandably, the spotlight is on what Utah will do at quarterback in the final month of the season, coach Kyle Whittingham said. Isaac Wilson and Brandon Rose will share reps at quarterback.

“We’ll be evaluating this week. Obviously there’s two guys in the race,” Whittingham said.

For the Utah fan base, which has been fed up with QB issues over the past two seasons, initially brought on by injuries, this topic has been taking up the lion’s share of the discussion around a team that is 4-4 and heading for a four-game losing streak. November.

In addition to all the quarterback talk, one of the main issues is the Utes’ in-game struggles on both offense and defense.

How did Utah’s running game start and how is it played now?

The Utes have traditionally been a strong running team under Whittingham and are strong defensively against ground attacks.

This was the case in the first four games of the season; Utah outscored its opponent in all four wins.

Here’s a look at these numbers:

• Southern Utah (W, 49-0) — Utah rushed for 185 yards, 70 yards allowed.
• Baylor (W, 23-12) — Utah rushed for 170 yards, 108 yards allowed
• Utah State (W, 38-21) — Utah rushed for 221 yards, 140 yards allowed.
• Oklahoma State (W, 22-19) — Utah rushed for 249 yards, 48 ​​yards allowed

The most impressive of those efforts was the win against Oklahoma State — that day Utah running back Micah Bernard rushed for a career-best 182 yards on 25 carries.

Meanwhile, the Utes defense held last year’s Doak Walker winner Ollie Gordon II to 42 rushing yards; this was the second-lowest run total of the season.

While Gordon hasn’t been able to put up the kind of numbers expected at the beginning of the season, his play still represents the Utes’ top performance offensively and defensively.

Right now, it’s also fair to note that perspectives and expectations have changed drastically since the Utes lost starting quarterback Cam Rising to injury — first he was injured midway through the Baylor game in Week 2, then for the season after Rising’s hobbled tackle throughout the season. He had a strong performance against Arizona State in the team’s sixth game.

Utah has been outplayed on the field in every game of the Utes’ four-game losing streak, culminating in their worst performance of the year with a 17-14 loss to Houston last Saturday.

Here’s a look at Utah’s rushing efforts over the last four games:

• Arizona (L, 23-10) — Utah 84 yards rushing, 161 yards allowed
• Arizona State (L, 27-19) — Utah 140 yards rushing, 176 yards allowed
• TCU (L, 13-7) — Utah rushed for 68 yards, 132 yards allowed
• Houston (L, 17-14) — Utah 90 yards rushing, 228 yards allowed

Bernard, by far the Utes’ No. 1 receiver this season, rushed for 51 yards against Houston; it was his lowest total since the season opener, when he had just five carries for 33 yards.

While some of the running game struggles can be attributed to opposing defenses piling into the box and having gritty quarterbacks like true freshman Wilson and the inexperienced Rose beat them in the air, that hasn’t been helped by struggles in the running game in recent weeks. Take the pressure off the passing game.

Against Houston, Utah’s defense kept the Utes in the game with two goal-line stops that denied the Cougars two promising sporting opportunities.

But the Utes were more susceptible to giving up offensive yards to Houston, and in the fourth quarter the Cougars relied on their rushing attack to recover and win.

Houston trailed 14-7 entering the final quarter, but they ran the ball in 18 plays in the fourth quarter, only throwing the ball three times and scoring two touchdowns.

The first scoring drive was an 85-yard possession and was fueled by the running game before the 28-yard touchdown. The second touchdown drive, set up by Rose’s interception with 1:55 left in the game, included eight consecutive runs before Houston nailed the game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired.

When asked to identify the team’s challenges, Whittingham primarily mentioned the running game.

“Last game, we didn’t run the ball well enough. We didn’t defend the run well enough,” he said Tuesday.

He added: “We again lost the turnover margin, which was the main theme this year, missing a few field goals and giving up some points. It was a combination of four or five things we didn’t do as well as we could have done.

Can Utah do damage control during the bye week?

There are a few factors that could contribute to some changes, at least offensively, in Utah’s bye week before the Utes’ home team remains undefeated and ranked No. 9 on Nov.

The Houston game was the first game under interim offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian to take charge of the Utah offense. Andy Ludwig resigned Following the loss to TCU.

“It gives him some time to get ready,” Whittingham said of the bye week and how it could help Bajakian get up to speed.

“You know, there was such a crisis last week that there wasn’t much opportunity to fix things or put his stamp on it. But with the bye week he has a small opportunity to do that.”

While Bernard has been the team’s primary ball carrier for most of the season, Jaylen Glover has made his first carries since Week 1 in the loss to Houston. Against the Cougars, he had four carries for 33 yards, including one of 22 yards.

Could someone like Glover, Mike Mitchell or Dijon Stanley, who has seen his carries dwindle in recent weeks, be used more on the Utah ground attack in the team’s final four games to help spell out Bernard?

“Jaylen played very well. “He didn’t get a lot of carries but he maximized the carries he got and had a really good training session today.”

Given the quarterback issues and receiving group, the Utes may need to put more emphasis on offense. I just lost Money Parks to a season-ending injury.

Defensively, if the Utes could get a little healthier, some of the game’s woes could be addressed.

The interior of the defensive line has been beset by injuries, with linebacker Karene Reid returning for two weeks and Utah returning linebacker Connor O’Toole to the field against Houston.

Junior Tafuna and Keanu Tanuvasa, who competed against Houston, missed the game.

Missed tackles have also been a particular problem throughout much of the season, dating back to the Utes’ first loss against Arizona just before their first bye of the season.

Can the Utes correct some of these defensive mistakes during the bye week?

It’s not good enough. We shouldn’t have started with 17 points in the beginning, so we have to be better. We have to be better” Reid said after the loss to Houston:.