Burning Questions: Utah vs. Washington
Here. We. Go.
The Utah Utes are peaking, steamrolling Cal 35-0 for the Bears’ first shutout in 20 years and yielding just 23 points in the last four games. It comes at a time when the stars are aligning—no. 9 Utah travels to Seattle this weekend to face a pesky Washington Huskies team, and no. 7 Oregon squares off against USC in the Coliseum. The Trojans hold the tiebreaker with the Utes, so if the two top ten teams are victorious, it propels Utah into the driver’s seat in the South race.
This is the pivotal weekend for Utah’s season. Can they subdue Washington and defeat them for the second time in program history? It all comes down to this.
Last Week’s Questions
Huntley says he can play. Should he?
Tyler Huntley did end up starting and driving Utah to a commanding 28-0 halftime lead before Jason Shelley came in relief. Huntley clearly does not look 100 percent out there, but he did enough on a hobbled leg to go 11 for 17 for 214 yards and a touchdown.
Shelley performed well himself, going 4 for 5 and a touchdown pass and run. It’s reassuring to know that Huntley can still throw, but Utah has a weapon in Shelley in case they go with some run packages in down and short situations. on top of that, teams can’t just expect Shelley to run.
Time to play Bam?
Bamidele Olaseni didn’t get any snaps against Cal, but with the clock ticking and games running fewer, Washington might be a place where he gets his first chance. Darrin Paulo will be available, but that shouldn’t stop Andy Ludwig from inserting their 6-foot-8 Olaseni into the game and keep the offensive line fresh. It’s only a matter of time, now, and had Paulo sat out last week, Whittingham acknowledged that it would have been time for Bam.
Can the defense keep rolling?
With their second shutout for the season, Utah’s defense now is averaging less than 10 points per game yielded. In their last four games, they’ve given up less than four points per game. Just an incredible feat. Cal’s 82 yards of total offense ranks first among Utah defenses in the Pac-12 (last week’s 132 against ASU is second). Utah is also first in the country in run defense and third in total defense.
Conference Results from Week 9
USC 35 Colorado 31 - Colorado led by 10 in the fourth quarter and couldn’t find the killer instinct to put the Trojans away. It would’ve been great for the Buffs to win, but USC has more opportunities to drop a game or two.
Stanford 41 Arizona 31 - KJ Costello came back and led the Cardinal to a victory. Arizona’s loss assuredly eliminates them from South contention.
UCLA 42 ASU 32 - Utah’s win against a top 25 team doesn’t hold up, but since it’s ASU, it’s sweet justice for those cheap shots.
Oregon 37 WSU 35 - The Ducks escaped a Washington State surge and knocked in a late field goal to seal the win. The close games they’ve been having lately doesn’t give much reassurance to a road win against USC.
This Week’s Questions
Big game for the secondary
Washington quarterback Jacob Eason’s 2019 campaign has seen him throw 16 touchdowns, three interceptions and is just shy of 2,000 passing yards. While nonexistent in the run game, Eason makes up for it with accuracy in the short and intermediate throw game and lets his athletic receivers make plays on the deep balls.
Utah’s secondary shuts down Eason, and they stop the Wasington offense. Eason will try and beat Utah much the same way Matt Fink did to Utah—take the top off the defense and checkdown when they’re in double coverage. The key for the defensive line is forcing him outside of the pocket, where he’s uncomfortable.
Big game for Kuithe and Fotheringham?
It’s been no secret that tight ends are integral to Andy Ludwig’s offense—Brant Kuithe and Cole Fotheringham have combined for 20 catches for 294 yards and four touchdowns. They’ve been huge in moving the chains, run blocking and pass protection. In the Cal game, Kuithe had a huge pickup for 20 yards in the middle of the field when Utah was pinned within the 5 yard line.
Washington has great corners in Myles Bryant and Elijah Molden—they have combined for 82 tackles, three interceptions, 10 pass deflections and three forced fumbles. If there’s an area to exploit for Utah’s passing offense, it’s going to have to come in the middle of the field and away from Bryant and Molden. Kuithe and Fotheringham have both proven excellent as pass catchers, and they could be in for a huge role this Saturday.
Once again… Can Utah live up to the hype?
Even as the no. 9 team in the country, Utah still has a lot to prove. A loss this weekend will feed into the narrative that they can’t play in November and the moment is to big for them. On the other hand, a victory here gives Utah a strong likelihood of winning the South—obviously, hinging on a USC stumble between now and the end of the season. However, at 5-3, ESPN’s FPI is still projecting them to go 7-5 to close out the year. The same metric has Utah teetering between 10-2 and 11-1.
Washington isn’t the juggernaut they’ve been in year’s past—this is a team Utah matches up well on both sides of the ball and should have the advantage in most battles. Despite going on the road, it’s a game Utah should win—if they want to live up to their top 10 ranking and team goals.
Week 10: Who is Utah cheering for?
Arizona vs. Oregon State - A Beavers win knocks Arizona out from South contention for good.
Oregon vs. USC - (Cue Gordon Bombay) Quack, quack, QUACK. You can do it, Ducks!
Colorado vs. UCLA - UCLA technically owns their own destiny in the South, but should anyone be nervous of that? Probably not.