Success hasn’t exactly eluded the Utes, after all this program averages just under nine wins in the last four seasons. Yet, the Pac-12 South crown has been the one feat Utah has yet to achieve. As the hottest team in the conference currently, that potential accomplishment is now very much in reach. UteNation.com Publisher Alex Markham details the reasons for Utah’s 2018 success and the possible vulnerabilities that they can present for ASU to exploit on Saturday.
Coming into this year we all knew that the Pac-12 South was wide open but some of us still wondered if Utah could get over the hump and win the South for the first time. So, looking at their 6-2, 4-2 Pac-12 record are you surprised by what you've seen or do you think the team is simply playing up to its own expectations and capabilities?
I’d say they’re FINALLY playing up to their expectations. The offense, aside from Zack Moss, was awful the first four games. The defense? Well, the defense scary good. All this Utah defense needs is a mediocre offense, and that’s good enough for Utah to win most games. Early on, fans were angry with the media, thinking there were unrealistic expectations. Now, the joke is, “Look, everyone, it’s the ‘Fall Camp’ Utes.”
After a 0-2 to start to Pac-12 play it was probably easy to jump to the conclusion that Utah would be out of the race for the division championship. What in your mind has caused a turnaround of not only winning four straight games but also scoring at least 40 points in each and every contest?
It’s simple, getting Tyler Huntley right mentally—he was struggling with confidence. They’ve now taken the clamps off him to allow him to be himself and run more. What also helped was, masking what was looking to be a bit of offensive coordinator Troy Taylor’s weakness: calling the run game. Utah eventually gave offensive line coach, Jim Harding, more responsibility devising the weekly run game. He also made the line bunch together, while keeping the plays the same. Taylor still calls all the plays, but Harding’s expertise has helped Taylor find a rhythm to his scheme.
Quarterback Tyler Huntley may not be putting up gaudy passing numbers but looks much different than the signal caller he was last year. What in your opinion has allowed him to improve so much from 2017?
He hasn’t really improved, in my opinion. He’s only now getting back to the quarterback everyone saw in the spring and fall. Like I mentioned above, his first four games weren’t the greatest, but at the same time, the staff had limited him. He’s the type of player who performs his best when he doesn’t have to think, and he can just play. For me to say he improved off of last season, he’ll need to maintain his current level of play throughout the rest of the season.
There isn't anything especially different or complex when it comes to the bread-and-butter of this offense and that's a strong running game with Zack Moss close to eclipsing a 1,000 yards rushing and scoring 10 touchdowns and obviously Huntley chips in as well in this department. Do you feel it's more the scheme or the personnel that allows the Utes to be so dominant with their ground attack?
Moss is the best back in the entire Kyle Whittingham head coaching era, and there have been some good ones. Like they say in baseball, for some guys the ball just sounds different off the bat. Well, with Moss, it’s just “different” the way he hits the LOS. He’s 36 net yards away from 1,000 and he hasn’t even been healthy for half the season. He also gained 10 pounds in the offseason and got faster. Their success is 100% Moss and Huntley, not the scheme—and Moss will be an early-entry into the NFL draft. There are some scouts that have him as high as the no. 1 running back on their boards. right now.
By the way, he and Eno Benjamin will be a fun matchup to watch. You guys have a special talent, as well.
You look at the receiving numbers and they really are modest compared to most of the conference. Eight games in I was surprised to see Britain Covey have one touchdown and averaging just over 65 yards of reception. Is it just the type of passing defense that does just enough to help the overall cause or do you feel it's a shortcoming that can be exposed?
It all goes back to the first for games, their passing game was non-existent and brutal. Huntley had poor touch on the ball, the timing was off, and the receivers were dropping too many passes. Now, after those first four games, it’s night and day different, but Huntley is spreading the ball around to usually around 7-8 different targets.
As an opposing defensive coordinator, what is the most effective way to slow down this explosive Utah offense?
Get to Tyler Huntley as fast as possible with a solid pass rush.
The defensive numbers for Utah are absolutely ridiculous. The run defense gives up an average of 81 yards which is 50 yards better than the second-best defense in the league. Consequently, it gives up just under 17 points a game and just over 200 yards passing. What in your opinion has really allowed this unit to take it to the next level in 2018?
Their depth is insane. The defensive line will always be strong under a Whittingham coached team, but the big thing this year is the defense’s overall size, coverage skills, and closing speed. Every group of commentators that cover their games, talk about those things. Utah has definitely lacked in the INT department, but to me, that’s been deceiving with this unit. Their passing yards per game given up, is where it is, because of teams that like to throw the ball 40 times a game—and unless the opponent is Washington State, that usually means good things for any defense.
This defense probably goes as far as linebacker Chase Hansen takes them every week. How would you describe him in terms of his traits and overall impact on this unit?
For me to say that, would be discrediting everyone else on the defense. Chase is an absolute stud, but they can absolutely still survive and dominate without him. As for his traits and impact, the quarterback turned safety turned linebacker, was always projected to be a backer—and he actually played that real frequently in 2017, as they disguised their coverages. He has great instincts, terrific coverages skills, and freaky closing speed at 230 pounds. He’s also turned into a great asset as a pass rusher. Now, if a Ute wins Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, will it be him? Yes, absolutely. However, their success isn’t fully dependent on him being in there.
Any players on either side of the ball that are kind of flying under the radar that Arizona State fans should be aware of?
Defense: Maxs Tupai (DE), Javelin Guidry (NB), Cody Barton (LB), and Jaylon Johnson (CB, although he’s really breaking out)
Offense: Jaylen Dixon (WR), Brant Kuithe (TE), Solomon Enis (WR), Samson Nacua (WR), and Cole Fotheringham (TE)
As an opposing offensive coordinator looks like you'll have your hands full trying to figure out this defense, but still what is the most effective plan of attack for any Utah's opponent?
Send N’Keal Harry deep down the middle, especially in the first half as Marquise Blair serves a first-half suspension. After Blair is back, it gets tougher, but the safety spot was the biggest weakness in the Washington State game, as the Cougars aired it out and won it late.
Looking at the team's current success would it be fair to say that if they did not win the South that the season would be a bust?
Yes, it would absolutely be considered a bust. There’s the belief around Salt Lake City of a November curse. In reality though, this is the first year Utah actually has the depth to overcome late season bumps and bruises. If they falter, it’ll be a frustrating offseason.
From your perspective what are your keys to the game and prediction for Saturday's matchup?
Utah’s defense will place their focus on Harry and Benjamin, and dare ASU to beat them with anyone else. With Harry, the Utes have the physical corners to lock him down as much as possible, but I still expect him to get at least one sizable play. On offense for Utah, they just need to feed the beast, in Moss. He simply wears teams down, which opens everything else up for the passing game.
Utah 34 Arizona State 20
Coming into this year we all knew that the Pac-12 South was wide open but some of us still wondered if Utah could get over the hump and win the South for the first time. So, looking at their 6-2, 4-2 Pac-12 record are you surprised by what you've seen or do you think the team is simply playing up to its own expectations and capabilities?
I’d say they’re FINALLY playing up to their expectations. The offense, aside from Zack Moss, was awful the first four games. The defense? Well, the defense scary good. All this Utah defense needs is a mediocre offense, and that’s good enough for Utah to win most games. Early on, fans were angry with the media, thinking there were unrealistic expectations. Now, the joke is, “Look, everyone, it’s the ‘Fall Camp’ Utes.”
After a 0-2 to start to Pac-12 play it was probably easy to jump to the conclusion that Utah would be out of the race for the division championship. What in your mind has caused a turnaround of not only winning four straight games but also scoring at least 40 points in each and every contest?
It’s simple, getting Tyler Huntley right mentally—he was struggling with confidence. They’ve now taken the clamps off him to allow him to be himself and run more. What also helped was, masking what was looking to be a bit of offensive coordinator Troy Taylor’s weakness: calling the run game. Utah eventually gave offensive line coach, Jim Harding, more responsibility devising the weekly run game. He also made the line bunch together, while keeping the plays the same. Taylor still calls all the plays, but Harding’s expertise has helped Taylor find a rhythm to his scheme.
Quarterback Tyler Huntley may not be putting up gaudy passing numbers but looks much different than the signal caller he was last year. What in your opinion has allowed him to improve so much from 2017?
He hasn’t really improved, in my opinion. He’s only now getting back to the quarterback everyone saw in the spring and fall. Like I mentioned above, his first four games weren’t the greatest, but at the same time, the staff had limited him. He’s the type of player who performs his best when he doesn’t have to think, and he can just play. For me to say he improved off of last season, he’ll need to maintain his current level of play throughout the rest of the season.
There isn't anything especially different or complex when it comes to the bread-and-butter of this offense and that's a strong running game with Zack Moss close to eclipsing a 1,000 yards rushing and scoring 10 touchdowns and obviously Huntley chips in as well in this department. Do you feel it's more the scheme or the personnel that allows the Utes to be so dominant with their ground attack?
Moss is the best back in the entire Kyle Whittingham head coaching era, and there have been some good ones. Like they say in baseball, for some guys the ball just sounds different off the bat. Well, with Moss, it’s just “different” the way he hits the LOS. He’s 36 net yards away from 1,000 and he hasn’t even been healthy for half the season. He also gained 10 pounds in the offseason and got faster. Their success is 100% Moss and Huntley, not the scheme—and Moss will be an early-entry into the NFL draft. There are some scouts that have him as high as the no. 1 running back on their boards. right now.
By the way, he and Eno Benjamin will be a fun matchup to watch. You guys have a special talent, as well.
You look at the receiving numbers and they really are modest compared to most of the conference. Eight games in I was surprised to see Britain Covey have one touchdown and averaging just over 65 yards of reception. Is it just the type of passing defense that does just enough to help the overall cause or do you feel it's a shortcoming that can be exposed?
It all goes back to the first for games, their passing game was non-existent and brutal. Huntley had poor touch on the ball, the timing was off, and the receivers were dropping too many passes. Now, after those first four games, it’s night and day different, but Huntley is spreading the ball around to usually around 7-8 different targets.
As an opposing defensive coordinator, what is the most effective way to slow down this explosive Utah offense?
Get to Tyler Huntley as fast as possible with a solid pass rush.
The defensive numbers for Utah are absolutely ridiculous. The run defense gives up an average of 81 yards which is 50 yards better than the second-best defense in the league. Consequently, it gives up just under 17 points a game and just over 200 yards passing. What in your opinion has really allowed this unit to take it to the next level in 2018?
Their depth is insane. The defensive line will always be strong under a Whittingham coached team, but the big thing this year is the defense’s overall size, coverage skills, and closing speed. Every group of commentators that cover their games, talk about those things. Utah has definitely lacked in the INT department, but to me, that’s been deceiving with this unit. Their passing yards per game given up, is where it is, because of teams that like to throw the ball 40 times a game—and unless the opponent is Washington State, that usually means good things for any defense.
This defense probably goes as far as linebacker Chase Hansen takes them every week. How would you describe him in terms of his traits and overall impact on this unit?
For me to say that, would be discrediting everyone else on the defense. Chase is an absolute stud, but they can absolutely still survive and dominate without him. As for his traits and impact, the quarterback turned safety turned linebacker, was always projected to be a backer—and he actually played that real frequently in 2017, as they disguised their coverages. He has great instincts, terrific coverages skills, and freaky closing speed at 230 pounds. He’s also turned into a great asset as a pass rusher. Now, if a Ute wins Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, will it be him? Yes, absolutely. However, their success isn’t fully dependent on him being in there.
Any players on either side of the ball that are kind of flying under the radar that Arizona State fans should be aware of?
Defense: Maxs Tupai (DE), Javelin Guidry (NB), Cody Barton (LB), and Jaylon Johnson (CB, although he’s really breaking out)
Offense: Jaylen Dixon (WR), Brant Kuithe (TE), Solomon Enis (WR), Samson Nacua (WR), and Cole Fotheringham (TE)
As an opposing offensive coordinator looks like you'll have your hands full trying to figure out this defense, but still what is the most effective plan of attack for any Utah's opponent?
Send N’Keal Harry deep down the middle, especially in the first half as Marquise Blair serves a first-half suspension. After Blair is back, it gets tougher, but the safety spot was the biggest weakness in the Washington State game, as the Cougars aired it out and won it late.
Looking at the team's current success would it be fair to say that if they did not win the South that the season would be a bust?
Yes, it would absolutely be considered a bust. There’s the belief around Salt Lake City of a November curse. In reality though, this is the first year Utah actually has the depth to overcome late season bumps and bruises. If they falter, it’ll be a frustrating offseason.
From your perspective what are your keys to the game and prediction for Saturday's matchup?
Utah’s defense will place their focus on Harry and Benjamin, and dare ASU to beat them with anyone else. With Harry, the Utes have the physical corners to lock him down as much as possible, but I still expect him to get at least one sizable play. On offense for Utah, they just need to feed the beast, in Moss. He simply wears teams down, which opens everything else up for the passing game.
Utah 34 Arizona State 20
