THREE THINGS: Utah Can't Stall and Settle On Offense

In what is expected to be a showdown in the snow with the entire nation watching, Utah (1-2) will travel to Boulder to face Colorado (4-0, 3-0 Pac-12) on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. MT on FOX.

Saturdays are for the #UBoyz

10am MT on FOX pic.twitter.com/Mo95KFyVFf
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 9, 2020

What makes Saturday morning special for this young Utah team as it's the first time they'll be playing in a game where the words "underdog" and "spoiler" will be synonymous with who they are. The Utes are also hoping that a victory against the Buffaloes will be the last time those words are are associated with the program.

“It felt great. A ‘W’ is a ‘W',” junior wide receiver Britain Covey said following Utah's 30-24 win over Oregon State on Saturday. “This is a young team. There are a lot of things to learn. This season, you’ve got to find the positives in it. We’re so happy to get a win. We’re sick of losing.”

It's not going to be easy for the Utes as the game will be at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado. With temperatures hovering around freezing and snow flurries expected, it's going to be a battle in the trenches as both teams feature prominent running games with subpar passing capabilities.

Utah freshman running back Ty Jordan, the reigning Pac-12 freshman of the week, Colorado sophomore Jarek Broussard, the nation's No. 2 rusher, are expected to be the stars and shine brightest given the weather conditions. But they'll both be going up against talented front sevens that pride themselves on stopping the run and make teams one dimensional.

Here are THREE ways Utah pulls out the win...

1.) Utah Can't Settle For Field Goals
Apart from the defensive collapse in the fourth quarter last weekend against Oregon State, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham most displeased with the fact that three of Utah's early drives in the game all ended in field goals.

“We got field goals. That’s a whole different deal. That was extremely frustrating,” stated Whittingham. “First three trips in the red zone ended with field goals. The game should have been blown wide open earlier. It was our inability to function how we need to in the red zone, our ineptness in the red zone. That game should not have even been close early on.”

Against a Colorado team averaging 31.8 points per game, the Utes cannot afford to have any drives stall out in the red zone and settle for field goals. It's expected that the Buffaloes will put up points so the Utes must do the same. Doing so will be a two-fold solution for Utah.

Scoring points, especially early and putting Colorado into an early hole, will force the Buffaloes to rely on quarterback Sam Noyer and his arm. That's where the they've gotten into trouble this year, trying to throw the ball. If Colorado is forced to play catch-up, it takes away from Broussard and the run game and allows the Utes to pin back their ears and get after Noyer.

2.) Jarek Broussard Can't Go Crazy
It's fairly simple for Colorado. If Broussard runs wild, the Buffaloes will most likely win. If Broussard is largely held in check or struggles, the Buffaloes will have a difficult time pulling off the victory.

That has to be Utah's primary focus on defense slowing down the nation's No. 2 rusher who's averaging 183.3 rushing yards per game. It will take a collective effort by the Utes defense as the they all must be aware of Broussard's burst and cutback ability once he sees an opening.

As a unit, the team is giving up just 104.7 yards per game on 3.6 yards per carry, also a conference best.

What's interesting for the Utes is that usually teams with a great rushing defense rack up tackles for loss at a high rate. Utah is the exception. On the season, the Utes rank fourth in the Pac-12 by averaging 6.3 tackles for loss per game, led by junior linebacker Devin Lloyd (5.5) and senior defensive tackle Hauati Pututau (3.0).

"We got to get the job done some way," Lloyd said following the victory over Oregon State. "Playing through a little adversity, but we did it. Obviously feels great to get the win. We don't expect to lose ever, never even in our minds. ... But victories are what we play for, what we love and what we expect."

Last week against Oregon State, the Utes racked up eight tackles for loss and three sacks. But most importantly, they held the Beavers to just 4.3 yards per carry after Oregon State entered the game averaging 5.5 yards per tote. Doing so will be no easy task against Broussard and that's why it's a key component to Utah pulling off the win.

3.) Get Creative And Stay Imaginative On Offense
Leading 30-10 early in the fourth quarter last week against Oregon State and 21-0 at the half the week prior against Washington, Utah somehow managed to make the final each a one-score game. And a lot of that had to do with offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig and the play selection.

The Utes became too predictable on offense and were easily shutdown by the opposing defenses. The passing game became non existent — Utah ran 11 offensive plays in the fourth quarter against the Beavers with just one pass.

“Just kind of got too vanilla and not imaginative and we knew we want to milk the clock, that makes sense to milk the clock in that situation but when you’re milking the clock there’s no reason for you to not stay creative and get some production,” Whittingham said postgame against Oregon State. “That was awful to have three three-and-outs in a row at the end of the game when we could have put the game on ice and we couldn’t do it which is unacceptable. That’s us as coaches and we got to get better. There’s not a coach, myself or the offensive staff that’s that’s pleased with what happened at the end of the game so we got to do better but credit our players again for hanging in there and doing the best they could.”

That sort of lack of imagination cannot happen against a Colorado team fighting for its right to be in the Pac-12 championship game. If the Utes jump out to an early lead like they did their past two games, they must put their foot on Colorado's throat and push down.

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