This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In the first two games of the football season, the Utah Utes have done just about everything that anyone could have wanted.
It is fair to demand more from them, starting Saturday afternoon at Michigan.
The Utes need to intercept a pass, win a road game and build some momentum for the Pac-12 schedule. None of that is asking too much.
In so many ways, this is a terrific opportunity for Utah. Michigan features an iconic venue with 100,000-plus fans, a brand-name program with a lot of history and, significantly, an average football team at the moment.
Bowl-eligibility math is still a good starting point for any discussion of Utah. Considering how one of their four remaining home opponents is No. 2 Oregon, the Utes (2-0) probably need a road victory at some point to reach six wins. Some good possibilities would remain ahead of them, including trips to Oregon State in mid-October and Colorado at the end. But the longer it takes the Utes to break through on the road in 2014, the more questions will persist about their ability to perform away from Rice-Eccles Stadium.
As receiver Dres Anderson said this week, "What better venue to do it at than Michigan, the Big House?"
Utah claims only two road wins in the past two seasons, seven-point victories at Colorado in 2012 and BYU last September. Coach Kyle Whittingham has studied other programs to make sure the Utes' process is sound. He's making one concession to a game in the Eastern Time Zone by having the Utes travel Thursday.
Otherwise, his basic discovery is that having a better team walk off the bus is always good strategy. The Utes are approaching trips the same way they did in the Mountain West era, but they're only 3-10 in Pac-12 road games.
They can't change that record in this game, but they can start a positive trend on the road. The conclusion of Whittingham's study? "We've just got to do a better job of making plays," he said.
It starts with catching the football. I'm talking about Utah's defense. When they beat Colorado in 2012, the Utes doubled their previous season total with four interceptions. Against BYU, in the fourth game of 2013, a late interception secured Utah's victory.
Since then, the Utes have picked off exactly two passes in 10 games, both at home. Turnovers and takeaways are critical on the road, and so is a good start.
"If you don't start fast on the road, it's kind of hard to get back into it, because you don't have your fans pumping you up," Anderson said. "Everybody's against you."
The Utes need to prove that their improved passing game can function well against somebody other than Idaho State or Fresno State, and that their secondary can fix some inconsistency. This game will not offer an elite-level test in either category, but Michigan certainly is an upgrade over those other opponents. Because of the way the Utes have eased into the schedule, including an open date last weekend, there's much more to be learned about them.
The discoveries will go beyond the effect of those white helmets the Utes will break out Saturday. If Utah can go into Ann Arbor, play efficiently and win the game, that will say a lot about the team's growth — regardless of the state of Michigan's program.
Whittingham wouldn't immediately be awarded a contract extension, the Utes' conference record wouldn't improve and bowl eligibility wouldn't be clinched. Yet beating Michigan would open up a lot of possibilities for this team, making no remaining opponent or road venue appear all that overwhelming.
A win Saturday wouldn't qualify the Utes for the Rose Bowl. But it would make their chances of beating UCLA in that stadium in two weeks seem more reasonable.
Twitter: @tribkurt