Utah's flat defense leaves some concerns ahead of Fresno State


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — It’s been said defense wins championships. And if Thursday night is any indication of how close Utah is to a championship, the team has a long way to go before that dream becomes a reality.

Although Utah beat Idaho State 56-14 in convincing fashion, the Bengals were able to get its offense moving better than expected. The Bengals finished the game with 337 total yards, 179 of those yards coming in the run game.

“The biggest disappointment was not dominating and controlling the line of scrimmage like I had anticipated,” head coach Kyle Whittingham said following the game. “We gave up too much rush yards, too soft against the run.”

The Utah football program has been known for its stout defenses for several years, particularly against opposing rushing offenses. Players like Tenny Palepoi, Trevor Reilly and Star Lotulelei made it extremely difficult for teams to find an open gap and exploit the defense. But Idaho State — an FCS team that hasn’t won a road game in more than six years — exploited the front seven all night long.

“The front seven on defense was not where it needs to be,” Whittingham said. “We’re stout against the run just about every single year, holding teams to 100, 110, 120 yards. And to give up nearly 200 in the first outing doesn’t sit well.”

“Guys were coming off their assignments not doing what they’re supposed to do, kinda just freelancing I guess,” defensive end Nate Orchard said.


The first game is always just getting the jitters out, figuring out your technique. I feel very confident that we're going to progress a lot.

–Eric Rowe


The lack of assignment football was not detrimental to Utah against an inferior opponent, but Idaho State is about the only scheduled team this year that will not pose too much of a threat with a lackluster defensive performance.

“It’s frustrating because sometimes you want to freelance and do what you’re used to doing, but we practice a lot of technique stuff that’s crucial,” Orchard said. “It’s little details that we’ve got to stick to and that’s what’s going to help up in the run game and the pass — guys just doing their responsibility.”

While it’s easy to see problems for the Utes in the future, it’s only one game in a long season. Despite injuries and players like Justin Thomas not playing, Utah’s defense is good enough to bounce back and prove Thursday’s performance was an outlier and not the norm.

“The first game is always just getting the jitters out, figuring out your technique,” Eric Rowe said. “I feel very confident that we’re going to progress a lot.”

“It hurt when Reggie (Porter) went down (during fall camp),” Rowe added. “He was probably out of all of us the best coverage guy. So when he went down it hurt. Justin it hurt, but we know we’re going to get him back next week, so that will be great for our depth.”

Utah does have talented playmakers to contend with tougher opponents. Orchard had a big night, working Idaho State’s offensive line for 2.5 sacks and eight total tackles. Hunter Dimick, too, was a tough defender on the edge, contributing to one of Orchard’s sacks and four tackles.

“Hunter, a blue-collar guy, a tough guy, did a nice job,” Whittingham said.

Getting some reps in the second half was Lowell Lotulelei, who also got a sack and had three total tackles. Lotulelei helped tighten up the middle of the line that was exposed early in the game. Dominique Hatfield, too, had a good night on defense, adding more depth to the secondary unit that struggled to play man coverage and get some takeaways.

“He did a good job,” Rowe said. “I saw the slant he stopped, the deep post. He did a great job, especially going both sides. That’s not easy, especially in college football. Just to see him out there making plays, it’s a good feeling.”

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsUtah Utes
Josh Furlong

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast