SALT LAKE CITY — Utah coach Kyle Whittingham walked into his news conference Saturday night, complimented his players, touched on the controversial officiating — “Things out there were ridiculous” — then addressed the offensive second-half offense in a come-from-ahead 22-21 loss to Brigham Young.
Did the Utes change anything schematically that might have led to the scoreless third and fourth quarters?
“No.”
Did they get conservative with an 11-point halftime lead?
“I don’t think so.”
How did he assess quarterback Brandon Rose’s performance in his first career start?
“I don’t know. We’ll have to watch the film.”
Three questions from the media, three responses from Whittingham that totaled a mere 14 words.
No surprise there. His answers were non-answers because, after five consecutive losses, Whittingham has no answers.
But there are plenty of questions, starting with: How could a (future) Hall of Fame coach let this happen?
Utah’s plunge into the abyss does not require deep examination, folks — it’s all about the quarterback play. There’s more than enough talent at the other 21 positions to compete for a Big 12 title.
Yes, Whittingham mentioned Utah’s inability to stop BYU’s final drive after the controversial defensive holding penalty gave the Cougars a second chance. But the defense has been plenty good enough over the course of nine games.
Despite the lack of support from the offense, the Utes are 11th in the nation in fewest points allowed; fifth in fewest Red Zone touchdowns allowed (by percentage) and first in lowest third-down conversion attempts allowed.
The explanation for their predicament — Utah must win two of its final three to secure a bowl berth — is one position. But within that defined space, things get complicated.
Why did Utah rely so heavily on a quarterback, Cam Rising, who was coming off a major knee injury?
Why wasn’t freshman Isaac Wilson better prepared to take over?
Did they wait too long to switch from Wilson to Brandon Rose?
Was everything Andy Ludwig’s fault?
His replacement is not the answer. Mike Bajakian, who took charge of the offense after Ludwig’s resignation in mid-October, did not field a first-rate offense during his tenure at Northwestern or distinguish himself last weekend in the Holy War. BYU adjusted at halftime, and the Utes failed to muster a successful countermove.)
And it’s quite possible Wilson isn’t the longer-term answer, either — that his NFL bloodlines and blue-chip recruiting designation covered flaws in his processing power from the pocket.
Or maybe the playbook is simply too dense, too complicated, for anyone who isn’t AARP-eligible. (Just kidding; Rising is only 25 years old.)
And if that’s the case, the Utes have an enormous problem.
College quarterbacks aren’t getting younger, but they are getting less experienced.
With the flow of talent governed by the transfer portal, quarterbacks are no longer content to spend three years learning the offense and waiting for their chance to start.
Effective management of the position requires coaches to create schemes that are easy to absorb for whichever plug-and-play quarterback emerges from the transfer portal.
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Wilson and Rose signed with Utah out of high school, but their limited experience with the system was akin to what a transfer might possess.
What worked with Rising in 2021-22, when the Utes won back-to-back Pac-12 championships, isn’t working with Wilson and Rose this season and probably won’t work with the designated starter next fall.
Some might view Utah’s collapse as a sign that Whittingham is slipping, that the game is passing him by at warp speed.
Others might wonder if he plans to retire at the end of the season, particularly given Utah’s decision this summer to name defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley as the “head coach in waiting.”
Whittingham is about to turn 65 — each season could be his final season. But we aren’t convinced the past six weeks reflect a decline in performance.
From here, it looks like an isolated issue rooted in a single position. In the position.
But if Whittingham does, in fact, return next fall for Year 21, changes must follow — or what looks like an outlier season will become the norm.
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