It's a non-Saturday game for Arizona this week as the Wildcats (3-3, 2-1 Pac-12) head out to Salt Lake City for a meeting with Utah (3-2, 1-2) Friday night. Both teams are coming off wins over Northern California schools with the 'Cats taking down Cal last week and Utah earning a big victory over Stanford.
It is an important game in the battle for the South Division as both teams need wins to try and stay in the conversation for the division crown. UA heads into the game as a pretty heavy underdog, but to help us get a better understanding of why and what Kyle Whittingham's team will bring to the table he had a chat with publisher of UteNation.com, Alex Markham.
Utah got the big win last week over Stanford. What’s the mood like around the team right now after that victory considering there was an 0-2 start to open Pac-12 play?
That win was huge, man. The mood can be summed on one play, when Tyler Huntley evaded a rush and dropped a crucial deep ball to Samson Nacua as he sprinted untouched for the game-clinching touchdown. Honestly in one play, you could see the boulder drop from Huntley’s shoulders as well as everyone around him—and the team’s celebration from that play, had to be a huge relief to see for the fans and the Utah staff.
This is a good football team, that wasn’t having the ball bounce their way. From there, the pressure got thick and things compounded. If they come out on Friday looking like they did against Stanford, that’s the moment everyone will continue to point to.
These guys are a confident bunch, now.
What are some of the similarities and differences from this year’s Utah team compared to the one that came to Tucson and earned a win last season?
Like what’s going on with Khalil Tate, Huntley has struggled for a lot of the games, as he hasn’t been the guy who played with reckless abandon and swagger, last season. However, there have been glimpses of the 2017 Huntley, during the last two weeks. From there, running back Zack Moss, had yet to really breakout, and he’s turned into a guy that—barring anything crazy happening—will be off to the NFL after his junior year. Utah will be at their best if he touches the football 25-30 times in the game.
Defensively there’s a lot more speed. Also, linebacker has gone from the weak spot, to a strength. They moved former strong safety Chase Hansen, to linebacker, and he’s been an absolute beast. Also, if the Wildcats try to exploit Chase’s sidekick, Cody Barton, based off of his previous tape against Arizona that might be wise. Barton is the Utes’ most improved defensive player.
Kevin Sumlin and Arizona’s players talked a lot about the Utah defense this week. What is about that group that has made it successful and has the Wildcats concerned heading into Friday night’s game?
I mentioned in the last question, the defense’s speed. It’s something that even the national commentators gush over and that’s a huge reason why they’ve put up some of the best numbers in the nation. The passing yards that the secondary gave up the last two games, are a bit deceiving, so I wouldn’t recommend that the Wildcats try to sling it around. Now the defense has their flaws, but the good far outweighs the bad. Sometimes they can take bad angles in their help defense, something that lost the game for them against Washington State.
The Utes have also reloaded along the defensive line, and while the play from the defensive ends can get better, they’re holding the edge much better than the last two seasons.
Who are a few Utah players on offense and defense Arizona fans should know about heading into this week’s game?
For the offense, I’ve already mentioned Huntley and Moss, but if you stop them, you stop the Utes. Arizona fans will also want to pay close attention to slot receiver Britain Covey. The elusive sophomore is a threat to take it to the house on any given play, something many expect to happen against the Arizona defense.
Defensively, aside from the ones I’ve mentioned, strong safety Marquise Blair, is like a missile and has great closing speed. The there’s the defensive backs: Jaylon Johnson (who has a 100 yard pick-6 going up against JJ Arcega-Whiteside), Julian Blackmon, and Javelin Guidry—a name that Arizona fans probably want to forget.
If you were on the other side and coaching Arizona, what would be some of the key things you would try to do to come away with a win over Utah Friday night?
Against Utah’s offense, do two things: make Huntley uncomfortable in the pocket, and key on the run game. Huntley’s timing has been of with his receivers, until recently, so disrupt the pocket and have someone spying him for the run. As for the run game, Moss is most likely going to get his yards—he’s a bruiser that wants to wear you down, but he also has breakaway speed—but the longer you can contain him, the less confidence the Utes’ offense will have.
With attacking Utah’s defense, I’d spread the and throw it as much as possible, hoping that the sheer amount of passes will eventually lead to a few big plays. With Utah and their man-to-man coverage, if you can catch the help side defense off guard, they’ll be vulnerable. However, for the most part the guys are pretty assignment sound.
How do you see the game playing out and what is your score prediction?
Where this is a tough one for me is, knowing which Utah offense will show up. They have the weapons to exploit the Wildcats with their rushing attack, combined with short quick passes. Look for this approach early, in order to get Huntley in a groove. If he can’t find that groove early on, it’ll be trouble for the Utes’ offense. With the confidence they built last week against a good Stanford squad, I’m going 41-17 for the Utes. Even if the Utah offense was to struggle, defensively, I just don’t see the Arizona offense having much success against this unit.
It is an important game in the battle for the South Division as both teams need wins to try and stay in the conversation for the division crown. UA heads into the game as a pretty heavy underdog, but to help us get a better understanding of why and what Kyle Whittingham's team will bring to the table he had a chat with publisher of UteNation.com, Alex Markham.
Utah got the big win last week over Stanford. What’s the mood like around the team right now after that victory considering there was an 0-2 start to open Pac-12 play?
That win was huge, man. The mood can be summed on one play, when Tyler Huntley evaded a rush and dropped a crucial deep ball to Samson Nacua as he sprinted untouched for the game-clinching touchdown. Honestly in one play, you could see the boulder drop from Huntley’s shoulders as well as everyone around him—and the team’s celebration from that play, had to be a huge relief to see for the fans and the Utah staff.
This is a good football team, that wasn’t having the ball bounce their way. From there, the pressure got thick and things compounded. If they come out on Friday looking like they did against Stanford, that’s the moment everyone will continue to point to.
These guys are a confident bunch, now.
What are some of the similarities and differences from this year’s Utah team compared to the one that came to Tucson and earned a win last season?
Like what’s going on with Khalil Tate, Huntley has struggled for a lot of the games, as he hasn’t been the guy who played with reckless abandon and swagger, last season. However, there have been glimpses of the 2017 Huntley, during the last two weeks. From there, running back Zack Moss, had yet to really breakout, and he’s turned into a guy that—barring anything crazy happening—will be off to the NFL after his junior year. Utah will be at their best if he touches the football 25-30 times in the game.
Defensively there’s a lot more speed. Also, linebacker has gone from the weak spot, to a strength. They moved former strong safety Chase Hansen, to linebacker, and he’s been an absolute beast. Also, if the Wildcats try to exploit Chase’s sidekick, Cody Barton, based off of his previous tape against Arizona that might be wise. Barton is the Utes’ most improved defensive player.
Kevin Sumlin and Arizona’s players talked a lot about the Utah defense this week. What is about that group that has made it successful and has the Wildcats concerned heading into Friday night’s game?
I mentioned in the last question, the defense’s speed. It’s something that even the national commentators gush over and that’s a huge reason why they’ve put up some of the best numbers in the nation. The passing yards that the secondary gave up the last two games, are a bit deceiving, so I wouldn’t recommend that the Wildcats try to sling it around. Now the defense has their flaws, but the good far outweighs the bad. Sometimes they can take bad angles in their help defense, something that lost the game for them against Washington State.
The Utes have also reloaded along the defensive line, and while the play from the defensive ends can get better, they’re holding the edge much better than the last two seasons.
Who are a few Utah players on offense and defense Arizona fans should know about heading into this week’s game?
For the offense, I’ve already mentioned Huntley and Moss, but if you stop them, you stop the Utes. Arizona fans will also want to pay close attention to slot receiver Britain Covey. The elusive sophomore is a threat to take it to the house on any given play, something many expect to happen against the Arizona defense.
Defensively, aside from the ones I’ve mentioned, strong safety Marquise Blair, is like a missile and has great closing speed. The there’s the defensive backs: Jaylon Johnson (who has a 100 yard pick-6 going up against JJ Arcega-Whiteside), Julian Blackmon, and Javelin Guidry—a name that Arizona fans probably want to forget.
If you were on the other side and coaching Arizona, what would be some of the key things you would try to do to come away with a win over Utah Friday night?
Against Utah’s offense, do two things: make Huntley uncomfortable in the pocket, and key on the run game. Huntley’s timing has been of with his receivers, until recently, so disrupt the pocket and have someone spying him for the run. As for the run game, Moss is most likely going to get his yards—he’s a bruiser that wants to wear you down, but he also has breakaway speed—but the longer you can contain him, the less confidence the Utes’ offense will have.
With attacking Utah’s defense, I’d spread the and throw it as much as possible, hoping that the sheer amount of passes will eventually lead to a few big plays. With Utah and their man-to-man coverage, if you can catch the help side defense off guard, they’ll be vulnerable. However, for the most part the guys are pretty assignment sound.
How do you see the game playing out and what is your score prediction?
Where this is a tough one for me is, knowing which Utah offense will show up. They have the weapons to exploit the Wildcats with their rushing attack, combined with short quick passes. Look for this approach early, in order to get Huntley in a groove. If he can’t find that groove early on, it’ll be trouble for the Utes’ offense. With the confidence they built last week against a good Stanford squad, I’m going 41-17 for the Utes. Even if the Utah offense was to struggle, defensively, I just don’t see the Arizona offense having much success against this unit.
