How Should Utah Football Be Judged Against UCLA?

With so many unknowns entering this weekend's season opener against UCLA — especially regarding number of players and inexperience — how will you judge Utah when it's all said and done?

There are so many questions that Utah needs to answer ahead of Saturday's season opener. Among the most important ones are who will be taking the field when the Utes kickoff against UCLA on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. MT and will air on FOX.

With Utah cancelling last weekend's season opener against Arizona due to a rash of positive COVID-19 cases the day before kickoff, head coach Kyle Whittingham was unsure how many players he would have at his disposable come Saturday. 

With that being said, it stands to ask how will the Utes be judged by the fanbase and rest of the nation if they are able to field a team against the Bruins? 

Here are the facts that we know of entering Thursday, one day before the Utes are set to travel to Los Angeles.

1.) Number of Players Available
As of right now, the Utes currently have at least 53 scholarship players available for Saturday — the minimum needed to compete in a game. If Utah didn't have that many players, the game would be canceled and ruled a no contest.

But of those players, it's currently unknown how many of them were on the two-deep depth chart released on Monday. Utah's depth is without a doubt going to be tested, which isn't ideal considering 17 of the 44 positions available have either a true freshmen or redshirt freshmen already listed.

Whittingham also alluded to the fact that Utah is going to have to dig deep and spend this week preparing guys who were originally on the practice squad for in-game competition.

“Barely. We’re right on the borderline,” Whittingham said when asked regarding how many players have available for Saturday. “We do have extra time to try to prepare some guys that have been getting zero reps because of their status on the depth chart. When it happened last Friday, we were under the threshold as well but there was no practice left to try to get some of the walk-ons up to speed.

“It was an impossible situation. This week, even though we don’t have very many more players, if any, at our disposal than we had last week, at least we have time to try to get some guys trained up as best as we can.”

2.) Two Groups Decimated
During Monday's press conference, Whittingham revealed that there were “two positions that were decimated” by the positive cases. 

“Spread out but there are two position groups that were decimated, more so than any other,” mentioned Whittingham. “That’s why ultimately we couldn’t play because first of all, total number of scholarship players the two position groups we really couldn’t line up and get it done.”

According to sources, one of those units was the defensive line group, which comes as a massive blow as that was expected to the Utes' strength on defense entering the season.

By far the most experienced group on the defensive side of the ball comes in the trenches as Mika Tafua returns as a starter. He possesses all-Pac-12 potential and seems to be the next great Ute defensive lineman. Maxs Tupai, while not a starter for much of his career, has logged serious game time and have the experience and talent to make a difference. After losing starting seniors from last season, the inside is once again led by two seniors in Hauati Pututau and Viane Moala, two players with in-game experience. 

While it's unknown what other group was decimated, rumors have swirled that it was the offensive line. If this proves to be the case, it would be another huge blow as this group was expected to be the strength of the offense, led by two all-Pac-12 nominees in Orlando Umana and Nick Ford.

That means that Utah's two strongest position groups, the spots that require physicality and nastiness, could be completely out of sync come Saturday night.

3.) Temper the Expectations?
If Utah is barely over the minimum threshold and using players such as walk-ons and scout team guys, what sort of expectations should be had?

Obviously Whittingham and his staff are some of the best game-planners in the nation so that should bode well for the team. But regardless of how good a game plan is, the players are the ones who decide the outcome — and when operating with significantly less than your best is a recipe for disaster.

CONCLUSION
It's largely unknown what sort of team the Utes will be able to field on Saturday. Will it be most of their normal starters, half or less than half? And even then, how much time will the players on the field have had to prepare?

“Just for the sure fact our numbers, you have to give guys reps. Somebody’s got to take the reps,” Whittingham added. “So the guys that are available are the guys that are getting reps and it certainly has been a juggling act. Every week, every day, essentially there’s different lineups and getting people back from quarantine or from the virus itself and you’re losing some people. It’s been tough to keep continuity."

Developing chemistry and continuity is huge for the team, especially one as young and inexperienced as the Utes are on defense. And going up against a talented Bruins offense will prove no easy task. That's why fans should take Saturday with a grain of salt and not be so hesitant to jump to conclusions with this year's team. 

Regardless of the outcome of Saturday, it should be seen as a victory if Utah can simply get onto the field and play a game.

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