As Far As They Can Take It

For the past decade the sentiment around Utah Football has been the same: the team will go as far as the offense will take it. 

Kyle Whittingham has created a defensive dynasty in his time at Utah. The dominance on the defensive side of the ball has only increased in intensity since moving into the Power 5. Whittingham’s defense is the primary reason that he is a future hall of fame coach and widely respected as one of the best head coaches in the college football. His teams are always heralded for their toughness, physicality, and discipline, making them a team absolutely nobody is excited to play… ever. 

There has even recently been a stat, made popular by sportswriter Jon Wilner, which tracked the disappointing records of teams the week after they played Utah, undoubtedly underperforming because they were still recovering from the most punishing game on their schedule.

Baylor may not say it out loud but they are going to be feeling the effects of playing that Utah defense this week. The Utah defense was as good as it has ever been on Saturday, which is saying a lot. It was particularly special in the first half, allowing an astounding -10 yards in the first quarter and only 58 total yards going into half. Overall the defense allowed 223 total yards and only 12 points. 

In his postgame presser Whittingham reaffirmed this and said “the real reason we won the game was our defense. Defense played lights out.” It was hard to argue with Whittingham, who watched his defense play relentlessly in the pass and run game, getting 3 sacks and 8 tackles for loss. Baylor’s plays of the game going into halftime were some fantastic punts by Palmer Williams who averaged 62.7 yards per punt against Utah, and may have been the single biggest factor in keeping the game close until the end for the Bears. The truth is, for large portions of the game, this is all the Bears had going for them.

This was Utah’s second outstanding defensive performance to open the season. The Utes held the SUU Thunderbirds scoreless in their season opener, and have only allowed one touchdown in their two games so far this season. This is despite losing three defensive players in key positions from last year’s team to the NFL draft – safety Cole Bishop, safety Sione Vaki, and defensive end Jonah Ellis – not to mention a key transfer portal pickup to season ending injury in Kenan Johnson, who injured his knee in the first half of their opening game. In true Kyle Whittingham fashion, the Utes are reloading on defense, and will be perhaps the force to be reckoned with on their opponents schedule this season.

Unfortunately, since joining the Pac-12, Utah has struggled to find an offensive identity that could hope to match the fear that Utah’s defense put in the hearts of its opponents. Utah spent the first eight years of its Pac-12 membership cycling through offensive coordinators, perpetually unhappy with their ability to move the ball, develop players, or recruit at a high enough level to inspire long-term confidence. Kyle Whittingham and the Utes wasted great teams with elementary schemes and play calling, and some of the biggest what-ifs in Kyle Whittingham’s career will amount to “imagine if this team had an average offense.” 

Because of this, most seasons the sentiment around Utah’s potential has been less than positive. Utah fans were always optimistic about making the next stride, but regularly compared the program to Iowa (or in more pessimistic seasons, Northwestern), who have been famous for being stalwarts on defense, anemic on offense, and yet always one or two steps away from greatness, perhaps admitting to themselves and the world that with Whittingham’s defense anything was possible, but with Whittingham’s offense, they would need a lot of help and even more luck. 

Six years ago, all of that changed. Andy Ludwig, famous at Utah for running the offense that won the 2009 Sugar Bowl, returned to Utah after spending time in the same role at Wisconsin and Vanderbilt. He ran an offense led by Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss, perhaps Utah’s most talented backfield in program history, and turned the Utah offense into something that was reliable, and if not yet feared, was not something of which opposing teams could take advantage. 

That same offseason, Utah brought in a Texas transfer by the name of Cameron Rising, a former blue chip recruit and the perceived heir to Tyler Huntley’s position in Andy Ludwig’s offense. Cam’s place on the throne didn’t come easily, but when he finally became the starter for the Utah offense in 2021 the team didn’t look back. They won back-to-back Pac-12 Championships and had a good case of being the best offense in the conference each of those two years, along with the Whittingham defense you could set your watch to. As a result of the two Pac-12 Championship victories, Utah also attended two Rose Bowl games, the first against Ohio State, and the second against Penn State. Utah lost both games, and by no small coincidence, Cam Rising left both games with injury, the second of which was catastrophic for him and Utah, causing him to miss the entire 2023 season.

During the 2023 season something became painfully clear. The identity that Utah spent over a decade arduously searching through what felt like every available offensive coordinator to find seemed to leave the field with Cam. None of the scheme or magic that Andy Ludwig brought to Utah appeared to translate to backup quarterbacks, and despite their talent and effort, the Utah offense never found anything close to the same groove it did when Cam was under center. The offense lacked confidence and swagger. The play calling lacked creativity. The fans lacked hope. The offense coming on the field didn’t have the same energy and optimism that it had starting in 2021, but rather anxiety and fear that came in the decade prior. Everybody who knew anything about Utah Football knew one thing: this team would go as far as the offense took it, and the offense would go as far as Cam Rising took it.

When Cam Rising left the Baylor game on Saturday with an unknown hand injury, all of those tense feelings came back. Utah fans had spent a long offseason remembering the great times with Cam Rising, before his knee injury, when the offense was electric and was paired with a ferocious defense. The offense that helped Utah win back-to-back championships against Pac-12 juggernauts Oregon and USC. The offense that showed them the majestic San Gabriel mountains at sunset on New Year's Day. The offense that made them happy to see the defense leave the field. When Cam was hit hard on the sideline the fans held their breath, when he came up looking at his hand they said their prayers, and when he walked to the sidelines and into the locker room they cursed and sank into their seats, an all too familiar dread filling them once again. The air left the stadium, and you could feel the effect on the Utes whether you were watching from the stands or from a thousand miles away. The Utes had 23 points when Cam left the game, and somewhere in the back of their minds everybody in the stadium knew that they wouldn’t score again that day, and they were right.

True freshman Isaac Wilson relieved Cam Rising, and didn’t do anything harmful to the Utes, but didn’t do anything to inspire any confidence that Utah hadn’t fallen back into the team they watched in 2023, where offense would be an exercise in patience and good fortune. Isaac Wilson is talented, and more than capable of successfully leading the Utah offense with time to prepare, even if not as much as a healthy, or even a partially healthy Cam Rising. When asked about his performance, which amounted to 4 of 9 passing for 30 yards in a little more than one half of play, Isaac Wilson put it simply: “I gotta be ready.” 

It would be a tall order for him to be able to fill Rising’s shoes, having only been in the program for a couple of months, but he understands the most important part of his place in Cam Rising’s stead, to be trusted running the offense. “I need to be able to trust my teammates. My teammates need to be able to trust me,” Wilson continued. If he is indeed the new leader of this offense, trust will need to be extended from the coaching staff as well, and ultimately from the fans. Neither of those groups will trust him without evidence. He’ll have a chance to earn that trust from coaches in practice, who will hopefully open up the playbook and give him more opportunities for success. He’s already won their trust enough to be the second string QB, beating out players with more experience in the program and highly-rated recruits. As for the fans, the trust will not come as easily. We’ve been hurt too many times before.

Cam’s injury status going into week 3 is unclear, but initial reports from Whittingham is that it is nothing “too serious.” Whittingham is famous for his coach-speak, so that could mean anything from “Cam will be starting next week” to “Cam should play later this year.” Only time will tell, but Whittingham summarized the need for a competent offense no matter who is at QB: “The world can’t stop turning when Cam exits a game.”

Next week Utah plays in Logan against Utah State, who prior to this week’s games were rated 93 by SP+ (Baylor was ranked 39). Quite frankly, this game is winnable for Utah no matter who is at quarterback. Utah is talented enough to beat Utah State on the road with a true freshman QB – who is very talented! – with a week of practice and gameplanning. But as the non-conference games come to a close and Utah’s Big 12 conference opener in Stillwater against Oklahoma State looms, one big, familiar question looms.

Who is going to lead this offense, and how far can they take it?

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