THREE THINGS: Utah Needs To Establish Playmakers On Offense
When Utah and Oregon State meet on Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium, it will pit two teams going in vasty different directions.
After missing the first two games of the year due to COVID-19 related issues, Utah (0-2) is still searching for its first win of the season.
The Utes have losses to USC (33-17) and Washington (24-21), arguably the two toughest teams in the Pac-12. But they also had leads in both of those games (3-0 vs. USC, 21-0 vs. Washington) and the total improvement showed from Week One to Week Two was encouraging, albeit still ending in a loss.
Utah needs victories in its final three games of the season to become bowl-eligible, which at this point should be the goal of the program. Not only will it get the Utes an extra game this season, it will allow the team to practice an extra "X" amount of days, something they could really use considering their youth and inexperience.
Oregon State is coming off its biggest victory in arguably a decade, taking down then-ranked No. 15 Oregon 41-38 at home on Friday night. The Beavers (2-2) are now one win away from bowl eligibility, their first time since 2013.
Running back Jermar Jefferson is the main culprit for the turnaround this season, ranking second in the nation with 168.75 rushing yards per game. He ran all over Oregon's defense last week, finishing with 226 yards and tow touchdowns on 29 carries.
Oregon State very well could be 3-1 on the season and headed for the Pac-12 championship but a bad spot by officials in its game against Washington ultimately cost the Beavers the victory. However they've rebounded nicely with victories over Cal (31-27) and the Ducks in the previous two weeks.
Here are THREE ways Utah pulls out the win...
Nov 28, 2020; Seattle, Washington, USA; Utah Utes quarterback Jake Bentley (8) passes for a touchdown against the Washington Huskies during the second quarter at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
1.) Utah Must Solve Its Turnover Issues
This is an easy one, and all you have to do is ask head coach Kyle Whittingham or offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig. Utah will enter Saturday ranked last in the nation in turnover margin per game with -2.
“I’m disgusted with it, not surprised. Disgusted,” Ludwig said. “We have been a very good ball security football team. It is a constant point of emphasis with every player on the offensive unit. But obviously we have to do a much better job of taking care of the football. It’s all about the ball. We’ve got to do a much better job, starting with the quarterback position.”
Through two games this season, the Utes have committed nine turnovers (five against USC, four against Washington), seven of which have come from quarterbacks Cam Rising and Jake Bentley.
“If you boil it right down to the bare bones, that’s been our issue. If we turn the ball over one time in each game, we probably win both of them,” Whittingham said. “But that’s shoulda, woulda, coulda. It’s not the case but that’s how impactful it’s been.”
Bentley has been the biggest culprit this season, throwing two interceptions in each game thus far while losing a fumble against the Huskies. Freshman running back Ty Jordan also has two fumbles on the season, despite emerging as the one of Utah's best playmakers and separating himself from the other running backs.
Nov 28, 2020; Seattle, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies defensive back Kyler Gordon (2) forces a fumble by Utah Utes running back Ty Jordan (22) during the fourth quarter at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
“It sure looks like he’s starting to separate himself. We got him the ball more this week than last week,” Whittingham said. “He’s got great balance .... He’s a tough guy to tackle with a low center of gravity. He’s got good vision. He’s going to do a lot of good things for us during his career. He’s just getting started.”
The Utes have to find a way to stop beating themselves, as most of those turnovers have come at the most inopportune times and have been drive killers. Oregon State is expected to eat the clock with its running game, making possessions limited. So Utah can't afford to waste any of them.
2.) Contain Jermar JeffersonIt's highly unlikely that Utah will be able to stop Oregon State running back Jermar Jefferson, especially considering the way he's been toting the rock of late. That's why containing Jefferson will be key.
Nov 7, 2020; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; Oregon State Beavers running back Jermar Jefferson (6) celebrates his rushing touchdown during the second half against the Washington State Cougars at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
With starting quarterback Tristan Gebbia out and backup Chance Nolan — who's never thrown a pass in his career — in, the Beavers are more likely than ever to rely on Jefferson. He touted the ball 29 times against Oregon and it's best-guessed that he'll break the 30-carry mark against Utah.
The Utes cannot allow Jefferson to break off long runs like he did his past two games (75 yards against Cal, 82 yards against Oregon), nor average five yards a carry. If he's going to get 30 carries against the Utes, he needs to average something around 3-4 yards per carry. Utah must make him work extra hard for those yards and in turn force Nolan to beat them with his arm.
If Utah can limit Jefferson's effectiveness, there's a very good chance they emerge with the their first win of the season.
3.) Establish Kuithe, Covey, Thompson And The Passing Game
Tight end Brant Kuithe came into this season with as much fanfare as any Ute, garnering all-Pac-12 preseason honors and a number of All-American preseason honors. So when he was essentially shutdown (4 catches, 23 yards) by USC during Utah's season opening 33-17 loss last weekend, it was entirely shocking considering the hype entering the year.
Dec 6, 2019; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Utah Utes tight end Brant Kuithe (80) catches a pass against Oregon Ducks safety Brady Breeze (25) during the first half of the Pac-12 Conference championship game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
So when asked early last week about what needed to change on offense for the Utes entering their game against Washington on Saturday, Whittingham had a very short answer.
"We need to get Brant Kuithe the ball to more."
Ideally, Utah wants to be an offense that's as close to 50-50 as possible when it comes to run/pass. But the only way that can be successful is if the Utes find ways to get the ball to Kuithe, Bryan Thompson and Britain Covey.
Sep 15, 2018; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Britain Covey (18) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Washington Huskies at Rice-Eccles Stadium / Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to Saturday night against Oregon State, look for Ludwig to design the offense around Kuithe, Thompson and Covey, particularly getting them involved early on whether it be quick passes or screens.
Kuithe and Thompson have played this season, but Covey is still trying to get healthy after a hamstring injury suffered prior to the season-opener two weeks ago. All indictions are that he's ready to go this week, giving the Utes their top three targets — all of whom are different stylistically — for the first time all season.
“We’ve got to take a look at what we did from an offensive standpoint and figure out why we stopped getting the ball to the playmakers,” said coach Kyle Whittingham. “That’s always job No. 1 on offense. It’s about getting the ball into the hands of our weapons. We were better this week than last week but still not good enough, particularly in the second half.”
Nov 28, 2020; Seattle, Washington, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Bryan Thompson (1) runs for yards after a catch against the Washington Huskies during the second quarter at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
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