After canceling the season opener versus Arizona a day before kickoff due to a “rash of positive covid tests” per the Utah athletic department, Utah is set to travel to Los Angeles to begin their season against UCLA. The Bruins are coming off a 48-42 loss to a green Colorado team with a new quarterback and head coach.
Kyle Whittingham has alluded to the fact that a couple of position groups have been depleted of depth, and that walk-ons and practice squad players are receiving first and second string reps in practice. Is a less than 100 percent Utah team enough to defeat Chip Kelly’s UCLA team? Under normal circumstances, it would be less of a discussion of “if” and more of “how,” but Utah is facing an uphill battle.
Last Week’s Questions (unanswered)
How will the secondary perform?
Who will stand out in the backfield?
Is this Utah’s most complete group of pass catchers in the Pac-12 era?
This Week’s Questions
Are the depleted position groups good enough to propel Utah to victory?
Utah’s chances in this matchup depends on what position groups are most affected by quarantine and must sit out—or they’re full-strength but have missed a week’s worth of practice. How deep is Utah diving into their offensive linemen with them receiving just a week of first-team reps? Or is Utah’s already thin secondary going to be even less experienced?
We won’t know until game day the exact level of devastation Utah’s depth is. The best hope is that the players that must sit out are spread out among position groups and Utah can get by playing their typical overpowering offense and defense without too many hiccups. The worst case scenario is UCLA picks apart a depleted position group and attacks it all game, giving Utah no other choice but to improvise instantaneously.
What Dorian Thompson-Robinson will we see?
For the most part, UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a serviceable quarterback. He flashes excellence with a powerful arm and strong rush attack, but has never thrown over 60% in his career and had 12 interceptions in 2019, including one last week against the Buffs. If Chip Kelly utilizes him in the short game and puts pressure in the middle of Utah’s defense, that’s where he can thrive. If Thompson-Robinson is being relied on to throw deep or to the flats, that’s where Utah can make him uncomfortable, even if their players are inexperienced.
Maxs Tupai and Mika Tafua will be needed to contain the edge and keep DTR in the pocket. The defensive ends need to put pressure on the mobile quarterback. A porous defensive line would be disastrous for Utah’s defense.
What are Utah’s advantages and disadvantages going forward?
Clearly, the Utes are at a disadvantage against UCLA because regardless of who is available, key starters will have missed over a week of practice. Alternating lineups mixed with inexperience are recipes for losses in most football contests. Hopefully, Utah at say, 75% is good enough to beat UCLA at full strength—in some years, even in 2020, that might be the case.
However, Utah might have some advantages going into the rest of the Pac-12 play. First, opposing teams (and Utah, for that matter) won’t know how good they are at Saturday’s end. If the Utes are able to win decisively, they’ll feel pretty good about soon returning to full-strength.
The Utes could also discover a diamond in the rough, as well. Some players are exceptional practice players and mediocre on game day. The same can be said in reverse, that a player without much of a chance up to this point will have his number called and become a difference maker overnight.
