This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Stop and think about it for a second. More importantly, stop and feel it.

It's August. The days are still hot, but the nights are starting to conjure a bit of crispness. Pac-12 football will soon be here. Camp opens for the Utes this week. And during the recently completed league media days, everyone there was in a great mood. Everybody was undefeated.

In the good cheer, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham seemed to find himself caught between the reality of a new challenge — he said he thought the Pac-12 South was the toughest division in college football, at least that "there's an argument for it" — and the excitement of another fall season, his 11th as Utah's head coach.

Of all the answers to be found, of all the things to look forward to, as they pertain to the Utes and their upcoming climb, the first is the status of the Utah passing game, and the second, the offense overall.

Those were significant deficiencies a year ago, when the Utes started to show relative progress in nearly every other area.

They finished second in the Pac-12 in total defense, second in pass defense. They were fourth in scoring defense. They were first in sacks. They were first in punting, fourth in field goals, second in kickoff-return and punt-return averages.

But the Utes finished last in league total offense and in passing. They were second-to-last in first downs, the only team in the league to get fewer than 20 a game. They were third in penalties committed, but they were last in causing penalties committed by the opponent.

They were the conference's only team to average fewer than 200 passing yards per game. They gained a mere 2,570 yards through the air in total. By comparison, only two other league teams gained fewer than 3,000 passing yards, and half the conference out-produced the Utes' throwing total by 1,000 yards or more. One league team outgained it by more than 3,000 yards.

When Whittingham was asked about his football priorities on Friday, asked if their order of importance went like this: 1) defense, 2) the running game, 3) special teams, and 4) the passing game, he said he generally agreed, although he said you could argue the order of Nos. 3 and 4. His exact words: "There's a debate there."

As for the "throw game," as Whittingham likes to call it, he said: "It's got to be there, if you're talking about what you need to win."

Winning, indeed, is what everyone's talking about.

The Utes can go on making themselves respectable by playing strong defense, as has been their habit in recent years, even in a ridiculously competitive environment. They can go on playing cautious football in the framework of a strong run game and a limited pass game, an offense that prospers on the whole by not turning the ball over — the Utes finished tied for fifth in turnovers coughed up last season and sixth in turnover margin — and qualify for a bowl game.

But they'll never be great, they'll never ascend through the upper reaches of the Pac-12 until they can throw the ball with confidence when they need it.

Whittingham is pretty sure he'll have a fine defense again, although there are questions about the secondary with losses to graduation and the departure of Dominique Hatfield. The front seven is intact, with the exception of the graduated Nate Orchard, which Whittingham called "a big hit."

The run game will be all-world with the return of Devontae Booker, who could go for 2,000 rushing yards, especially if the passing game becomes more efficient and proficient, a fact Whittingham said he gets: "We've got to make his life not as difficult by throwing the football more effectively, to open up some things up for him."

To that end, the Utes will count on some combination of the same tandem of quarterbacks they worked with last year, Travis Wilson and Kendal Thompson. Whittingham said Wilson and Thompson will get the majority of reps when camp starts, with Chase Hansen getting the rest.

"Kendal's going to get every opportunity," he told 97.5/1280 The Zone. "He's earned that. He deserves that based on his performance last year. He's earned the right to challenge for that job. It's Travis' job to lose. But Kendal's going to get every opportunity to make his case."

Whoever starts and plays will need help from his receivers, a realm of some question with Kenneth Scott and Tim Patrick taking those slots. Whittingham admitted the experience there is reduced, and that the younger players will have to "step up."

As for who's manning the offense, who's calling the shots, that gets a bit complicated. The final word, under Whittingham's direction, will be new coordinator Jim Harding's. Co-coordinator Aaron Roderick will call plays from the booth, but Harding, who will be down on the field, will oversee game plans and, as Whittingham said it, "have final say on any game-plan impasses they come to or anything that has to be ultimately decided."

We'll see, then, how that works out.

The amount of excitement and success the Utes stir and relish this time around will blow in that wind. If the ball spirals straight and at the right times, this could be a whole lot of fun to watch. If not, the challenge will be great.

GORDON MONSON hosts "The Big Show" with Spence Checketts weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone. Twitter: @GordonMonson.