After the recent shake-up at offensive coordinator, the Utah Utes (4-3, 1-3) are looking to bounce back after a challenging three-game losing streak. This week’s matchup offers a critical opportunity for the team to turn their mid-season slump around on the road against the Houston Cougars (2-5, 1-2)

These burning questions wil be a little different as we talk about the offensive changes and look ahead to this week:

Was Ludwig stepping down the right move?

The easy answer is, it was the change that made the most sense. Even though Ludwig stepped down by his own accord, there wasn’t much of a probability after this last weekend that he was going to make it to Monday as the Utah offensive coordinator.

Was it all Ludwig, though? No, not at all. Cam Rising’s injury destroyed an offense that was heavily reliant on him because he mastered the offense. Isaac Wilson has electric arm talent, but he’s 18 years-old with a limited playbook. Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham, known for his methodical but sometimes painful preference to ball-control offense, isn’t going to just let a freshman sling it all over taking risks. Whittingham also has mentioned that some of the head-scratch third and fourth down plays were done because analytics said to. Therefore, he and Ludwig agreed to go those routes.

This is a topic that deserves to be talked about in-depth at the end of the season. Yet, right now it’s been a bit baffling and unfortunate Ludwig was the fall for a group that has the horses, but doesn’t seem to have a lot of answers. When the offense is “broken” it’s usually much more than one person.

Now let’s take a look at this week’s burning questions:

Can Utah’s offense take a positive step?

While Utah’s offense has been predictable, the execution of the offensive line has been inconsistent at times, making it difficult for the offense to be successful at times.

For Utah’s offense to improve, cleaning up the execution and enhancing communication across the line are top priorities. They need to be the most physical team on the field and establish the ground game, as the Cougars’ defense has shown vulnerability against balanced attacks.

Houston is vulnerable when opponents can run effectively against them, and then complemented it with an efficient passing game. Coach Bajakian and Isaac Wilson need to establish a simple, complementary passing game that makes quick, effective reads. Even modest gains through the air will force defenses to respect Utah’s passing, which can create more opportunities for Micah Bernard to break off big runs in the ground game.

Can the Utes defense get back to their consistent dominant ways?

The Utes currently allow 16.4 points per game ranking them No. 12 overall, while those numbers are impressive, critical missed tackles that have happened often this season, have proven costly. The Utes defense will present the Cougars one of their toughest challenges, so how can the defense get back to their elite ways?

The Cougars rank 121st in total offense, averaging only 13.3 points per game. Their offensive line has been a significant concern, they’ve struggled to find a consistent run game and allowed 23 sacks this season—more than 123 other FBS teams.

This presents an opportunity for the defense to generate turnovers and sacking the quarterback. The top priority for the defense will be returning to fundamentals to improve tackling and clean up missed opportunities they need to capitalize on to dominate against a struggling offensive team.

Do the mid-season changes improve the team's confidence?

The changes may not drastically alter the Utes’ offensive outcome this season, but a key indicator will be the weekly progress made under new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian. Who knows, his unique approach could breathe new life into the system, helping the team regain momentum, get back in the win column, and build an offense capable of putting points on the board. The rest of the season will be a challenging fight against tough Big 12 opponents, who knows this might turn Utah into a dark horse to upset undefeated team, we’ll have to see.