Utah one win from becoming bowl eligible after odd season
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Kyle Whittingham has repeatedly borrowed a phrase from Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells to sum up Utah in 2017: You are what your record says you are.
The Utes will be wrapping up one of their worst regular seasons since 2000 when they host Colorado (5-6, 2-6 Pac-12) on Saturday. Utah (5-6, 2-6) is simply trying to keep a three-year bowl streak alive after a season that didn't go as planned.
A loss would leave them tied with the 2013 team for their worst Pac-12 record since joining the league and would leave them with just the third seven-loss season since Whittingham took over the program in 2005. Utah opened the season 4-0 and has since lost six of seven.
"You either win or you lose, nobody cares why," Whittingham said. "Internally ... there's nothing that we feel like, 'Oh man, we completely missed the boat here. We blew that. We should have done that, we should have done this.' I don't believe there was any of that going on. But there were certainly some circumstances that led to not being able to get as many Ws as you want. But like I said, nobody cares."
The Parcells quote basically eradicates any excuses a team may have, and Whittingham knows no one has any sympathy for Utah. But the 2017 season may have been a perfect storm of circumstances.
Troy Taylor was hired as offensive coordinator and he brought a new pass-first system that is vastly different from the previous ground-and-pound style that Utah has traditionally employed. The offense had new starters at quarterback, running back, receiver and four of the five offensive line positions. Utah also dealt with injuries to quarterback Tyler Huntley, running back Armand Shyne, defensive end Kylie Fitts, safety Chase Hansen, safety Marquise Blair, guard Jordan Agasiva and others.
"It didn't play out the way we thought it'd play out," said Huntley, who missed two and a half games with a shoulder injury. "It was, for sure, a learning experience this whole season. I've got to gain a lot of weight over the offseason so I can be able to go the whole season strong. I kind of felt like my injury threw off the whole operation of this team."
The most frustrating part may have been the inconsistency each week. There were red zone issues for a period. The run game struggled sporadically. The defense didn't sack the quarterback like it has in the past.
Then there were the close losses - three by three points or less and four by a single possession. Whittingham called a late timeout last week that allowed No. 15 Washington to drive for a game-winning field goal as time expired. The Utes had seven turnovers in a loss to No. 14 Washington State. They failed to convert a two-point conversion with 42 seconds remaining in a 28-27 loss to No. 11 USC.
"It was a strange feeling just because the last three years have been successful," senior defensive tackle Lowell Lotulelei said. "It was definitely different. Obviously the losing, but just in terms of having to regroup so early in the season. I wasn't used to that because we were winning so much. It was a little weird just because it was such a different season in terms of winning and losing."
Utah will face a Colorado team in a similar situation - needing a victory to reach a bowl. That postseason reward won't mean much in the way of a high-profile game, but it does provide an extra period of much-needed practices for teams that have underperformed.
"It's like two spring balls," Whittingham said. "Invaluable for the young players. ... The biggest positive with those practices is when you can keep the young guys out for an extra hour and get good work with those guys one on one."
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