Task far from over for Utes
Utah coach Kyle Whittingham likes what he sees from his 23rd-ranked team, but he won’t make too much about the Utes being in control of the Pac-12 South.
The Utes’ 41-28 victory over USC last week placed them in first place in the Pac-12 South via a tiebreaker with the Trojans with four games remaining. Utah and USC are 3-2 in the conference. UCLA and Colorado are 2-2, and the Utes (5-2 overall) have games left against both teams — including Friday night against the Bruins at the Rose Bowl.
Asked about what he has learned about his team the most, Whittingham said the Utes are “staying even-keeled, avoid being too high or too low, just being consistent in your approach.”
“This group has been great about that,” he continued during his weekly press conference Monday. “Their preparation week to week is just very consistent; no peaks and valleys. They come out and take care of business on the practice field and in the meeting room, and that’s where it starts.”
Utah, which has won three consecutive games, has produced one of the best Octobers in program history going into Friday’s game at UCLA. The Utes have scored 40-plus points in beating Stanford, Arizona and USC.
In addition to the four remaining Pac-12 games, the Utes close their regular season with a non-conference showdown with rival BYU.
Utah plays UCLA (2-5, 2-2) after quarterback Tyler Huntley, linebacker Chase Hansen and kicker Matt Gay gave Utah the fourth sweep of individual weekly awards in Pac-12 history.
The Utes overcame a 14-0 deficit against USC behind 541 total yards of offense.
Novembers have not been kind to Whittingham’s program. Utah previously had four chances to win the South, only to fall short.
The 2011 team lost 17-14 at home to Colorado on the final day of the season, wrecking the chance to win the divisional title.
In 2014, Utah could have tied eventual champion Arizona in the standings, but it lost 42-10 to the Wildcats at home.
In 2015, the Utes were 5-1 in Pac-12 play, and a 7-2 record would have won the title outright. They lost 37-30 at Arizona in double overtime and then fell 17-9 to UCLA.
And in 2016, a 30-28 home loss to Oregon prevented Utah from creating a true division-title game at Colorado.
“We really just can’t take any steps back, any day, or get lax,” Hansen said. “That’s when you get caught.”