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CORVALLIS, Ore. — There was nothing of real substance to celebrate Friday night.
For the second straight week — and, really, all season — Utah was left with more questions than answers about the offense after its game. The previously unbeaten record on the season made it easier to stomach, but the underlying issues remained and were only exacerbated as the season developed.
Utah's offense is lost. There's no real answers readily available, either.
"I'm not going to point out one position group or one facet of the offense," Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. "We're just not getting it done. We're not in sync, we're not productive, we're not doing anything real well on offense right now."
Whittingham can't point to just one position because it's the entire offense that is struggling. There's blown assignment, bad throws, dropped passes, poor execution, and myriad other facets to the offense that lack any sense of confidence or consistency.
"We just couldn't get things done, some easily missed throws, missed blocks, protection breakdown; it was it was a struggle tonight," quarterback Nate Johnson said of the team's offense Friday night. "Credit to their defense, they had a great game plan, they played their tails off. They had a really good defense and we've just gotta clean up things next week."
The belief is that the easy answer to all of Utah's woes is to get Cam Rising back under center, assuming that one person can provide a wholesale change to the team. But the fact remains, Rising is out until he's not, which remains a growing mystery that has left anyone associated with Utah football — fans included — frustrated by the situation.
"I'd be doing everything I could possibly if I could help with," Whittingham said. "I don't know anything I can do to help with it other than wait for the doctor to give us the thumbs up, and we just don't have that yet. We're certainly not going to even consider trying to override that decision; that's not happening. So we're just waiting patiently for when he gets the green light.
"Cam wants to play badly," he added. "It's not like he's not eager to get back in the lineup, but it's got to be a medical decision where everyone gets the green light."
But Rising's replacements on the field — Johnson and Bryson Barnes — haven't been the lone problem, though they have their blame, too. There's an apparent drop off in how the offense functions without Rising, but the issues go beyond quarterback play. With that said, having a quarterback that breathes confidence into an offense can be a panacea of sorts.
Utah now enters the bye week with hopes that the next two weeks can provide some clarity on how the offense can improve. Whether that means Rising is finally cleared and Utah's offense gets an experienced playmaker under center, or Whittingham and Andy Ludwig are forced to retool the offense, all answers are on the table.
In the interim, Whittingham said it's important the team stays together and fights as it looks for a solution.
"The key now is that we stay together, figure out our deficiencies, and figure out a way to move forward, which we will," Whittingham said. "We'll be back. We've get a lot of competitive guys in that locker room. A lot of tough guys, a lot of guys that are very driven, and so that's where we're at right now."
"We suffered our first loss, but I think we're still good," added Johnson. "I mean, obviously, we've just got to clean things up on offense."
And though Whittingham is focused on improving its offense, he contends it's a team-wide effort. The offense and defense work as a collective unit in an effort to be in sync and get wins.
"We're doing some good things, but not enough tonight," Whittingham said. "If we score 7, then the defense has to allow 6 or less. And if the defense gives up 21, the offense has to score 22, that's the mentality. It's not we did our job, you didn't; that's never the case, because there's different ways to win games. It's very key that we don't point fingers and that we stay together, which we will. It's one loss, it's not the end of the world; it's a setback, and the key now is the response — how do we respond. That's the biggest factor. Out of the whole thing, that's the biggest key."
