AP Poll Week 4: Utah Just Outside of Top-10 After 3-0 Start, Looking Ahead to UCLA
The Utah Utes losing last year's Rose Bowl to Penn State in the last game of the season was the lesser of two evils that surfaced that night.
While it was an unfortunate end to a stellar season from coach Kyle Whittingham's squad, it didn't compare to the other loss that the Utes endured: Cameron Rising.
Midway through the third quarter of that game, Rising took a hit and didn't get up for what seemed like forever to Utes fans. He had to be helped off the field and missed the remainder of the game, but that injury — which was later revealed to be a torn ACL — didn't just keep him out of the Rose Bowl.
It kept him out for the first three games of this season, too.
Like it goes in fairytales, evil is outdone by good. And for Utah, that good has come in the form of its backup quarterbacks. Junior Bryson Barnes was first, leading the Utes to victory over a motivated Florida Squad. From there, third-string quarterback Nate Johnson took over, leading Utah to a comeback victory over Baylor to help improve his team to 2-0.
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That success continued, and as the Utes' record continued to stay perfect, their ranking only increased. And after Saturday's victory over Weber State, Whittingham's Johnson-led squad now sits at No. 11.
Since starting the season at No. 14, Utah has yet to decrease in ranking, moving from No. 14 to No. 12 in Week 3 and now to its highest mark yet. That doesn't mean the Utes are anywhere close to being safe, however. Unfortunately for them, this season is not likely to remain am "perfect" fairytale.
Rising is still questionable against No. 22 ranked UCLA this week, which puts Johnson in a new situation once again. Last week, Johnson was straightforward with what went right for him in the backfield, citing team chemistry and overall experience as factors for his success.
"Since spring ball, I had set myself back with a hamstring injury," Johnson said following Utah's 31-7 victory over the Wildcats. "But one of my main focuses has been accuracy. I have been building connections with the receivers, [and that helped] today, especially getting every receiver involved.”
Against the Bruins, getting every receiver involved will be crucial. Not only will Johnson be navigating the added pressure of being named the starter, but he'll also be doing so against a ranked opponent, though he will have home-field advantage.
But regardless of the pressure Johnson feels — or doesn't feel — he's going to do whatever it takes to help the Utes to their first 4-0 start since 2017. And if you ask Whittingham, he'd tell you the same thing. That is Utah's team philosophy, after all.
“Our culture is: 'Whatever it takes to win, it doesn’t matter,” Whittingham said. “Some weeks [we're] going to be more reliant on one phase [more] than the other, and that’s just part of the deal.
This week, that's likely to be Johnson once again. But as he mentioned last week, he isn't worried about that added pressure. To him, it's just another chance to help his team earn a victory.
Nate Johnson and the No. 11 ranked Utah Utes are set to host the No. 22 ranked UCLA Bruins Saturday, with a chance to remain perfect and gain admittance to the top-10 for the first time of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
