This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This is how quickly it all crumbles.
Only about two hours after the Utah Utes kicked off their inaugural Pac-12 home game in front of the conference commissioner and two Rose Bowl representatives, their quarterback was dealing with another shoulder injury, Washington was running all over Utah's proud defense and everybody attached to these Utes was wondering just where this much-anticipated season was heading.
"It doesn't look good," said coach Kyle Whittingham, addressing Jordan Wynn's left (non-throwing) shoulder. Yet that comment unwittingly spoke to the greater state of Uteville, with the nature of Pac-12 football hitting home in a 31-14 defeat. Rose Bowl? At this moment, the New Mexico Bowl appears attractive.
Everybody knew Utah was being phased into the Pac-12's revenue-sharing plan, but not so for the level of competition.
The crazy thing is, if the Utes somehow beat Arizona State next weekend, they instantly will join the South division race and all will be forgiven. The whole season also could fall apart right then and there, much as happened in Saturday's second half at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
"We couldn't slow 'em down," Whittingham said. "They ran the ball right down our throat."
That's disturbing. The Utes could not run, and they could not stop the run. That's the fabric of this program, the bedrock of Norm Chow's offense and Kalani Sitake's defense.
For all of their cosmetic touches, including the October fashion of black pants accenting their red jerseys, the Utes expected to match up physically and athletically with teams in this league. That was true, for a half.
Nobody can attribute the Utes' troubles strictly to five turnovers. Oh, no. Fumbling the opening kickoff and having the Huskies score a touchdown, throwing an interception and losing a fumble near Washington's goal line and basically handing the visitors a field goal with two undisciplined penalties added up only to a 10-7 halftime deficit.
If they were beneficiaries of Ute mistakes in the first half, the Huskies were dominant in the second half. Having posted 112 total yards as of halftime, Washington recorded 198 yards in the third quarter alone. Adjustments, anyone?
"Whatever they did," said Ute defensive lineman Derrick Shelby, "it seemed to work."
So give the coaching edge to Washington's Steve Sarkisian, a former BYU quarterback. And with Cort Dennison, a linebacker from nearby Judge Memorial, making a team-high 10 tackles, the Huskies shut down Utah's running game.
The Utes finished with 17 net yards, with sacks subtracted. John White, whose chest bears a wolf tattoo, gained only 35 yards on 14 carries with a long run of 6 yards, which made all those "Wolfman" visual and sound effects on the stadium video board seem silly.
Utah missed offensive tackle Tony Bergstrom, out with an injury, although Wynn's passing enabled them to move the ball effectively in the first half. But with Wynn ruled out for the second half, the offense was pretty much done.
His backup is Jon Hays, who described himself as "a scholarship guy" as way of avoiding excuses about his preparation level. Then again, his original agreement was with Nebraska-Omaha, a Division II school that dropped football last spring and left him hanging.
Hays played gamely, but threw an interception and lost a fumble. Now, the Utes may be depending on him in what becomes the biggest game of their season. "If I'm the starting quarterback, I mean, I've got to come out and get us a win," Hays said.
Those words, meant to be encouraging, actually sounded more foreboding, concluding an evening filled with bad signs for this season.
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