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Here's a term Kyle Whittingham used Thursday night that he might want to copyright: "out-athleted."
When Kaelin Clay slipped through the fingers of would-be tacklers as he danced to the end zone on returns, he "out-athleted" Idaho State. Devontae Booker "out-athleted" all the linebackers he cut past or bowled over by leaning into them.
The offensive linemen that Nate Orchard ripped through as he got 2.5 sacks? All of them, "out-athleted."
That's something that happens against an FCS team, which almost by definition is a step slower, a few pounds lighter, or both at every position. But the Utes know that they can't "out-athlete" all of their opponents if they hope to secure a winning season this year — they just have to play cleaner than they did against the Bengals.
"There were a lot of positives in the football game," Whittingham said as he began his postgame comments, "but I'll start with the negatives."
Not enough push from the offensive line. Not enough gap control on defense, leading to big rushing yards. Too many penalties, particularly in the secondary. No turnovers, a frustratingly long-running issue.
All of the mistakes the Utes made Thursday night stood out a little more starkly against a foe everyone assumed they'd dominate completely. While there were plenty of good things to talk about in a 56-14 snoozer of a game, the players shook their heads thinking about those areas where they weren't clearly a cut above Idaho State.
"Guys just not doing their assignments," defensive end Nate Orchard said, "not doing what they were supposed to do."
Whether it was freelancing or not knowing assignments, there were more defensive holes than the Utes desired. Allowing 179 yards on the ground - Idaho State's second-most rushing yards in any game since 2008 - was unnacceptable, Whittingham said.
"We've got to do a better job of coaching the run defense," he said. "The majority of them were what we call 'dead gaps,' because no one was there. It was a combination of linebackers and D-line, it wasn't one group or the other."
Also disappointing was the run game. While the team did manage 238 yards on the ground, and Devontae Booker and Bubba Poole each averaged more than seven yards per carry, Utah's offensive line wasn't plowing through the Bengals as coaches anticipated. The line also gave up two sacks quickly when Kendal Thompson first came in the game, which isn't encouraging with an aggressive Fresno State front coming in just over a week.
While Whittingham didn't mind passing along compliments to former Utes Steve Fifita and Spencer Toone who now coach the ISU defense, he's concentrated on his own group.
"They fought hard," Whittingham said. "But we just expected more."
Twitter: @kylegoon