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The date - October 30, 2010. Utah just intercepted an Air Force pass with an 18 point lead in the fourth quarter. It appeared as if the Utes were going to pull away from the Falcons and break a stretch of nail- biters with their conference rivals.
Facing a fourth and two from the Air Force 35 yard line, the Utes tried a short pass to running back Matt Asiata. Jordan Wynn's pass fell to the turf, and just as if a magician said "shazam", the Utah offense disappeared.
Not only did they disappear for the rest of the game against the Falcons, they played hide and go seek against TCU, hiding for more than three quarters. They didn't cross midfield until the fourth quarter when they were finally able to get into the endzone.
How about against Notre Dame? Surely they would be able to rebound and put up points against a team that had just given up 28 points to Tulsa. Unfortunately, the Utah offense never even got off the bus.
To put that into perspective, Utah had averaged 11.9 points per quarter through their first seven games.
Since the fourth quarter against Air Force, opponents have outscored the Utes 88-10. To put that into perspective, Utah had averaged 11.9 points per quarter through their first seven games.
What has happened? Is it the quarterback? Too often the quarterback gets too much credit for an offense's effectiveness; inversely, he shouldn't get all the blame for when things aren't clicking. So while Jordan Wynn has made his mistakes, he shouldn't have to shoulder the entire ineptness of the Utah offense.
Is it the play calling? In Utah's eight wins, they ran the ball an average of 36 times compared to passing only 29. In their two losses, they threw the ball 38 times compared to only 23 runs.
In Utah's eight wins, they ran the ball an average of 36 times compared to passing only 29. In their two losses, they threw the ball 38 times compared to only 23 runs.
For the Utes to get back on track and get back on the winning side of the scoreboard, they need to run the football.
"If you can't establish balance in your offense and run efficiently, it makes everything difficult," Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham said. "That's two weeks in a row now we were not able to do that."
Utah needs to regain its ground attack to have success on offense, whether by the utilizing the direct snap to Matt Asiata (where has that been the last two weeks?) or even allow backup quarterback Terrance Cain to run the option with Eddie Wide.
The better the Utes are able to run, the more success Jordan Wynn will have at quarterback. As defenses adjust to slow down the run, it will open up passing lanes and slow down the pass rush.
And while it may be difficult given what you have seen the past two weeks, don't give up hope in the Utes just yet. If Utah can beat San Diego State Saturday in California, it will be the fourth-consecutive nine-win season for the Utes. Not bad for a team that has only had 5 nine win seasons prior to current head coach Kyle Whittingham (2 under Urban Meyer, 2 under Ron McBride, 1 under Ray Nagel).
