Houston, we have a problem. It just continues to get uglier for head coach Kyle Whittingham and his Utes. You’d have to go back more than 10 seasons to the 2nd and 3rd years after moving into the PAC-12 conference in which Utah lost more games than they won. But with just four games left, three against ranked teams, and currently sitting at 4-4 overall and 1-4 in conference it might be more of a probability than a possibility. They almost got out of this one with a win and were up 14-7 after three. But Houston scored 10 points in the final quarter while pitching a shutout defensively to come out on top 17-14. Utah missed a couple of field goals along the way and with the game tied at 14 threw an interception with just two minutes left which led to the game winning 43 yard Jack Martin field goal with time expiring.
It’s almost as though they decided ahead of time that one team each quarter would be scoreless while the other team would score seven points. Houston was scoreless in the first quarter, 7-0; Utah scoreless in the second, 7-7; Houston scoreless in the third, 14-7; and Utah again in the fourth, 17-14—whoops! Should have come out even-steven except Houston, instead of scoring just seven points in the fourth quarter pulled a fast one and scored ten, with the final three points coming right at the end. I don’t know what to tell you, it’s four in the morning and after adding that interesting fun fact about Stanford am trying to entertain myself while I write.
Anyway with Cam Rising out the rest of the year—again—head coach Kyle Whittingham used a couple of QB’s in this one starting with Freshman Isaac Wilson and ending with Sophomore Brandon Rose. Wilson connected on 13-of-22 for 171 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions while Rose was 7-of-15 for 45 yards and that one interception right at the end that cost them the game. On the ground Utah rushed 26 times for 90 yards with Senior RB Micah Bernard leading the way with 51 yards and their only touchdown on 14 carries. What I found more surprising than Utah’s lack of offense was their stats on defense. They had no sacks, no pass disruptions, and just four tackles for loss which is really uncharacteristic for the Utes. Kyle was the Defensive Coordinator when Urban Meyer was coaching Utah and they have always been one of the stingiest defenses in the country. And they were certainly stingy regarding third down conversions, holding Houston to just 3-of-15, but mix in the three fumbles and an interception on the offensive side and it seems as though they are coming a bit unraveled at both ends. They are facing No. 9 BYU at home next, then No. 23 Colorado in a sold out Folsom Field in Boulder who could easily outscore them playing like this, and then No. 11 Iowa State—finishing maybe mercifully on the road at UCF.