Utes suffer devastating loss
Friday's loss to the Aggies was that hard to swallow for the Utes.
They lost a game of pride and they lost quarterback Jordan Wynn for who knows how long. Initial X-rays of Wynn's shoulder were negative but Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said he won't know how long Wynn will be out until further examinations are made.
However, the way Wynn struggled in the first half, it's questionable whether he is the guy the Utes need at quarterback anyway.
Jon Hays didn't win the game for the Utes, but he looked more comfortable in the pocket and his dual threat abilities made Utah State's defense respect him more than Wynn's arm did.
Not all the blame can be put on Wynn though, Utah's offensive line played like a sieve. The Utes moved guard Sam Brenner to left tackle which helped, but clearly the O-line is as suspect as many thought it would be.
Defensively the Utes couldn't get the stops at the end of the game when they needed them most. Adding to the defensive woes was the ejection of Joe Kruger for unsportsmanlike conduct. Teammates said he threw a punch, too bad the Utes didn't have it in them to punch out the Aggies.
Now Utah faces the undesirable task of round 2 of rivalry week. Putting themselves back together for that game won't be easy, receiver DeVonte Christopher admitted.
"It's the next game coming up, but we have to swallow this one first," he said.
Plenty of coverage of the game will be on our site.
In the meantime, here are Utah's grades:
Offense: C- - The Utes managed just 15 yards in their first 14 plays. Jon Hays came in and provided a bit of a spark, but the Utes were just 2-of-17 on third down conversions and had several dropped passes.
Defense - B - Utah's defense played all right, but couldn't contain Chuckie Keeton at the end of the game
Special teams - D - The Utes had a blocked punt, botched punt return and a bad snap on Coleman Petersen's field goals at the end of the game. He actually had two tries, thanks to a timeout by Utah State and both snaps were botched
Coaching - B - Hard to say what was the fault of the players and the coaches, but simple fact is the Utes didn't get it done Friday.
© Copyright 2013 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.