Whittingham: Utes not discouraged after 0-2 start
Utah stands at 0-2 in the Pac-12 after consecutive losses to Washington and Washington State, and the Utes have a difficult trip to Stanford this week, but coach Kyle Whittingham said his team remains upbeat.
“This team has a bunch of tough, high-character guys who work hard,” said Whittingham, who was asked during his Monday press conference if his team is discouraged.
“I certainly hope they are not. It is still early in the season, just four games in. Yeah, we’ve dropped a couple of conference games, but Washington is a heck of a football team and Washington State is a good team as well.
“It is too early in my estimation to have any signs of discouragement show up. No matter what happens on Saturday, you come back Monday and get ready to go and get ready for the next opponent. These guys know that.”
Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley has shouldered criticism of the Utes’ struggling offense, which ranks 90th nationally averaging 381.0 yards a game.
The Utes scored only three points in the second half in the losses to the Huskies and Cougars. Last week against Washington State, Utah amassed only 106 yards in total offense.
Whittingham came to Huntley’s defense Monday.
“He ran for over 100 yards, exclusive to sacks,” Whittingham said of Huntley, who gained 88 yards on 17 carries but was sacked twice for a loss of 17 yards. “He is one of the best runners on our team. He was also 12 for 20 (through the air for 118 yards), with a 60 percent (completion percentage).
“We probably needed more production out of the throw game, that was maybe the thing we were lacking, but we wanted to come in and establish Zack Moss. We did that with 30 carries. (Huntley) took care of the football. We didn’t turn over the ball one time, and when you don’t turn over the ball you give yourself a chance to win. Tyler did a good job of that.”
A positive development involving Utah’s offensive execution was the news that senior center Lo Falemaka is not lost for the season after suffering a leg injury against Washington State, Whittingham said. Redshirt freshman Nick Ford will replace Falemaka until Falemaka is able to return.