SALT LAKE CITY — In late December, Kyle Whittingham did something Utah football fans have grown very familiar with. He opted to make a change at offensive coordinator. Whittingham let co-offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick go while moving his co-chair Jim Harding to assistant head coach.

Whittingham, in hopes of shifting Utah’s offense to a more dynamic passing attack, hired Troy Taylor, the offensive coordinator and quarterback guru from Eastern Washington.

While the Utes have won games in the Pac-12 behind stout defenses, extraordinary special teams and a power run game, they’ve failed to win the Southern Division, largely because of late-season offensive lapses. The Utes have lost five straight Week 11 games, scoring more than 28 points only once during the stretch. Such low-scoring games put heavy pressure on the Utah defense to play nearly perfect football, needing to hold the majority of Pac-12 offenses well below their scoring average.

Though Roderick appeared to have Utah’s offense moving in the right direction, Whittingham, a defensive guru, appears to be channeling the old adage that the best defense is a good offense.

He might be on to something.

Looking at Tom Brady’s miraculous Super Bowl LI comeback as the Patriots stunned the Atlanta Falcons, one thing became abundantly clear in the second half, New England’s high-powered, passing-based offense had worn out the Falcons' defense.

Atlanta had held the Patriots to just three first-half points, mostly because of their four-man pass rush that continued to pressure Brady into inaccurate throws. As the Patriots' attack wore on, the Falcons wore out, allowing four straight scoring drives that erased a 25-point deficit. The Patriots won the game on an eight-play, 75-yard drive in overtime as an exhausted Falcons defense looked on.

In the end, the Patriots ran a staggering 99 offensive plays, including penalties, while the Falcons managed just 49.

It’s not the only time this formula has helped produce a championship.

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Clemson defeated Alabama in college football’s most recent national championship game by running 99 plays, wearing out an elite Crimson Tide defense late in the fourth quarter. The Tigers' offense, which appeared stagnant in the first half, rallied to score 21 points in the final quarter to win the game 35-31.

These high-powered, fast-paced offenses can neutralize football’s best teams, as both the Patriots, and Tigers discovered en route to championship victories.

Utah hopes to emulate that success under Taylor’s watch.

There is no doubt Utah’s offense needs to improve for the Utes to consistently compete for Pac-12 South titles, and Taylor may be the right man for the job, but he’s missing one thing both the Patriots and the Tigers have — the best quarterbacks in their respective leagues.

Tom Brady, winning his fifth Super Bowl, likely sits alone as the greatest quarterback in NFL history. Even against Matt Ryan, the NFL’s MVP, Brady was the best quarterback on the field, and it showed in the final score. Watson won the Davey O’Brien Award, as well as the Manning Award, both handed out to the nation’s top quarterback. Watching the national championship game, it’s hard to argue with that title.

Even with the addition of Cooper Bateman, the former four-star Cottonwood High School star whose Alabama team lost to the Clemson Tigers in January, the Utes likely have a middle-of-the-pack quarterback in the Pac-12 competing for the starting job in spring ball, regardless of how many plays they run.

Whether Bateman or Troy Williams starts for the Utes in 2017, they’ll be at a disadvantage at quarterback against USC, UCLA, Washington and Washington State in conference matchups this season. Sometimes that’s all that matters.

When Utah beat USC this season, it was because of a perfectly placed pass to Tim Patrick to knock out Adoree Jackson and the Trojans in Salt Lake City. When the Utes fell to Oregon, it was due to a well-placed touchdown pass from Justin Herbert to Darren Carrington in the back of the end zone to end Utah’s title hopes.

Troy Taylor’s no-huddle offense will increase the number of overall snaps opposing defenses have to face when they play the Utes, and fatigue should allow the Utes better opportunities to find the end zone late in games. But until Utah finds its elite quarterback, the quantity of its plays might not overcome the quality of opposing signal callers.

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