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Can Utah fix the problem with its running game? -Deseret News

Can Utah fix the problem with its running game? -Deseret News

Many of the same issues that affected Utah last time went into a bye week about a month ago — quarterback questions, red zone scoring and missed tackles — continue to plague the Utes now, during their second bye week of the 2024 season.

The focus is understandably on what Utah will do at quarterback in the final month of the season, coach Kyle Whittingham said Tuesday Isaac Wilson and Brandon Rose will split reps at quarterback.

“We will do an assessment this week. “Obviously there are two people in the running,” Whittingham said.

For a Utah fan base that has grown weary of QB problems – initially due to injuries – over the last two seasons, that topic takes up the lion’s share of the debate on a team that is 4-4 and has a four- Lost series of games is coming up in November.

One of the underlying issues, beyond all the quarterback talk, is the Utes’ difficulties in the running game – both on offense and defense.

How Utah’s running game started and how it’s going now

The Utes have traditionally been a strong rushing team under Whittingham and are strong defensively against ground attacks.

This was the case in the first four games of the season, as Utah outscored its opponents in all four wins.

A look at these numbers:

  • Southern Utah (W, 49-0) – Utah rushed for 185 yards and allowed 70
  • Baylor (W, 23-12) – Utah rushed for 170 yards and allowed 108
  • Utah State (W, 38-21) – Utah rushed for 221 yards and allowed 140
  • Oklahoma State (W, 22-19) – Utah rushed for 249 yards and allowed 48 yards

The most impressive of these attempts was the win over Oklahoma State – on that day, Utah running back Micah Bernard ran for the best rush of his career on 25 carries: 182 yards.

The Utes defense, meanwhile, held last year’s Doak Walker winner Ollie Gordon II to 42 rushing yards, his second-lowest rushing total of the season.

Even though Gordon didn’t put up the numbers expected early in the season, the game still represents the Utes’ peak performance when it comes to rushing offense and defense.

It’s also fair to point out at this point that the outlook and expectations have changed drastically since the Utes lost starting quarterback Cam Rising to injury – first when he was injured midway through the Baylor game in Week 2, then for the Utes Season after Rising struggled mightily against Arizona State in the team’s sixth game.

However, Utah was outscored on the ground in every game of the Utes’ four-game losing streak, and that led to its worst performance of the year, a 17-14 loss to Houston, last Saturday.

A look at Utah’s rushing efforts over the last four games:

  • Arizona (L, 23-10) – Utah rushed for 84 yards, allowing 161
  • Arizona State (L, 27-19) – Utah rushed for 140 yards and allowed 176
  • TCU (L, 13-7) – Utah rushed for 68 yards, allowing 132
  • Houston (L, 17-14) – Utah rushed for 90 yards and allowed 228 yards

Bernard, the Utes’ No. 1 prospect by a wide margin this season, ran for 51 yards against Houston, his lowest total since the season opener, when he had just five carries for 33 yards.

While some of these issues in the run game can be attributed to opposing defenses stacking the penalty box and daring quarterbacks like Wilson, the true freshman, and an inexperienced Rose to beat them through the air, the issues in the run game in recent weeks have not helped relief of the passing game.

Against Houston, Utah’s defense kept the Utes in the game with two goal-line stands that prevented two promising Cougar chances.

However, the Utes were more prone to giving up rushing yards to Houston, and in the fourth quarter the Cougars relied on their rushing attack to rally and win.

Houston entered the final quarter trailing 14-7, but by the fourth play they ran the ball 18 plays and only threw the ball three times while scoring two goals.

The first scoring drive was an 85-yard possession and was fueled by the running game before a 28-yard touchdown pass. The second scoring drive – initiated by a Rose interception with 1:55 to play – included eight straight runs before Houston kicked a game-winning 43-yard field goal as time expired.

When Whittingham was asked to pinpoint the team’s struggles, he primarily mentioned the running game.

“In the last game we didn’t run the ball well enough. “We didn’t defend the run well enough,” he said on Tuesday.

He also added: “We lost the turnover margin again, which has been an issue this year, and left some points behind because we missed a couple field goals. “It was a combination of four or five things that we didn’t do did as well as we could have done.”

Houston running back Stacy Sneed, left, is tackled by Utah defensive tackle Dallas Vakalahi, left, and safety Tao Johnson, right, during the game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Houston. | Michael Wyke

Can Utah do damage control during the bye week?

There are a few factors that could contribute to some changes, at least offensively, for Utah during the bye week before the Utes host undefeated and No. 9 BYU on Nov. 9.

The game in Houston was the first under interim offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, who then took over as head of the Utah offense Andy Ludwig resigned after the TCU loss.

“It gives him a little time to prepare,” Whittingham said of the bye week and how it might help Bajakian get more up to speed.

“You know, the last week was so difficult that there wasn’t much opportunity to tweak things or put your own stamp on it. But with the bye week he has a little opportunity to do that.”

While Bernard was the team’s primary ball carrier for most of the season, Jaylen Glover received his first ball since Week 1 in the loss to Houston. Against the Cougars, he had four carries for 33 yards, including a 22-yarder.

Could Glover, Mike Mitchell — whose carries have declined in recent weeks — or someone like Dijon Stanley be used more often in Utah’s ground attack to spell Bernard in the team’s last four games?

“Jaylen played very well. He made the most of his carries,” Whittingham said. “He didn’t get a lot of carries, but he maximized the carries he did get, and he had a really good practice today too.”

With quarterback issues and a receiving group, the Utes may need to rely more on the rushing attack I just lost Money Parks to a season-ending injury.

On defense, some of the issues in the running game could be addressed if the Utes could get a little healthier.

While linebacker Karene Reid has been back for two weeks and Utah brought defensive end Connor O’Toole back onto the field against Houston, the interior of the defensive line has been plagued by injuries.

Against Houston, tackles Junior Tafuna and Keanu Tanuvasa both missed the game.

Missed tackles have also been a particular problem for much of the season, dating back to the Utes’ first loss to Arizona shortly before their first bye of the season.

Will the Utes be able to fix some of these defensive mistakes during the bye week?

“Just not good enough. We shouldn’t have allowed 17 points at the start, so we had to be better. We have to get better,” Reid said after the loss in Houston.

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham (center) walks onto the field with his team before an NCAA college football game against Houston on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Houston. | Michael Wyke