The University of Utah suffered a rare bowl game loss under head coach Kyle Whittingham, as they fell to the Northwestern Wildcats 31-20 in the Holiday Bowl. It was a tale of two halves, one where almost everything went right and another where just about everything went wrong. The Utes closed their season with a 9-5 record, after surrendering 28 unanswered points in the second half.
Here are the takeaways to the game:
Shelley struggled to end the season, but the potential is there
Though the ending to this season was disappointing in a lot of ways, it's still remarkable that the Utes were able to go as far as they did with so many key players missing, especially on offense. Jason Shelley deserves a lot of credit for helping Utah to their first ever Pac-12 South championship, but the last two games—throwing five interceptions and losing two fumbles—showed that he's still got a ways to go before he's ready to take over the full-time starting job. However, there’s a lot to be encouraged by, with his poise and some impressive throws that he made while starting in relief of an injured Tyler Huntley. It also appeared that he was starting to get a better feel of when to keep his eyes downfield and when to tuck it and run in the bowl game.
Shelley has shown some good chemistry with the Utes’ young playmakers—Solomon Enis, Brant Kuithe, Cole Fotheringham, Bryan Thompson—and he has a lethal connection with Jaylen Dixon. As that chemistry continues to develop, it could lead to some very good things for the Utes down the road. The only question is, does Shelley improve enough over the offseason to give Huntley a true battle in the spring?
Aside from Moss, the Utah running game needs some work.
Utah prides itself on being one of the most physical, run-oriented teams in the nation but this aspect was absent in the loss on Monday night. Instead of relying on the run game to establish an offensive identity, Utah threw the ball 45 times, including two costly interceptions. That being said, they didn’t really have a choice but to pass, due to the lack of a sufficient running game—the Utes also only rushed for 91 yards on 32 carries. Northwestern deserves credit for their performance but this uncharacteristic showing by the Utah offense was one of the low-points in the Holiday Bowl loss, especially after such a great overall performance in 2019.
Moving forward, with the RPO offense at it’s core, Utah will need to improve in this area with or without Zack Moss. Those who filled in after his injury either need to improve in some crucial areas, or the Utes need to find another capable back on the recruiting trail.
The defense has nothing to hang their heads over
For one half of play, the Utah defense looked as fierce and as intimidating as can be. That all changed, however, as the offense committed one turnover after another in the second half. One touchdown wasn’t their fault, as Jared McGee had the 82-yard fumble returned for a score. Other, they were simple put in bad field position. Did they play up to their potential in the second half? No, far from it, but even the will of great teams will break, when one unit is continuously struggling. Morgan Scalley’s crew held the Wildcats to 81 rushing yards and 241 passing yards, both o which were below Utah (91 and 302, respectively). However, not many defenses can overcome six turnovers by their offense.
The future is bright. Hello, 2019
As Alex has reported on, all indications are that all juniors will be back, instead of jumping to the NFL. The offensive line and safeties are getting hit the hardest by graduation, so there’s work to do at those two positions. At linebacker, the Utes will remain loaded, despite the loss of Chase Hansen and Cody Barton. From there, all positions should be stable, and due to the unfortunate injuries that derailed a promising season, numerous backups will enter 2019 as battle tested.
The thing is, yes the season ended in some frustration with the last three games—even the BYU win. However, this team has a lot to be proud of and the anticipation all along has been that 2019 is their year for a big-time run. So sit back and take a deep breathe, then renew your season tickets and buckle up for what could be a memorable season, ahead. It’s a great day to be a Ute, even though the outcome didn’t go the team’s way.
