This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Corvallis, Ore. • For a team that just won its fifth game in six tries, the Utah Utes sure maintain an air of unpredictability.
Who starts at quarterback? Open to interpretation. Changes at receiver, on the offensive line? It could happen. Will Tevin Carter or Jacoby Hale play? Wait and see.
Kyle Whittingham has a blanket explanation for all the decisions he and his coaching staff make, one he reiterated as the Utes were packing up to fly back to Salt Lake City with another narrow victory: "What we gotta do as coaches is do whatever it takes to put us in the best position to win. Period."
That mantra may be an oversimplification, but it's also revealing. Winning: It's the bottom line for Whittingham and his staff this season. It explains all the things they have done for the past year, from bringing in short-term transfers to benching veterans to switching athletes to different positions all around the field.
As the No. 20 Utes prepare for a schedule against five ranked opponents in consecutive weeks, the staff has shown what they're willing to do to win: Anything and everything. No matter the cost.
"A win's a win," Nate Orchard said. "No matter how you get it."
To an outside observer, the program appears to have brought itself upheaval, uncertainty and risk.
It was apparent from when Utah announced it was bringing in Kendal Thompson, a former blue-chip recruit from Oklahoma who would push for the starting quarterback job. Though there were more questions than answers about Travis Wilson's health at that point, the seeds of a position battle were sewn, and to this day it rages on.
But even that risk paid off in its own way: Thompson was undoubtedly poised in Utah's win over then-No. 8 UCLA, and between his legs and Wilson's arm, Utah hopes to find an answer under center.
That's not to tally up the times Utah coaches have beaten the odds. Bringing in new talent has helped immensely. Carter, Kaelin Clay and Devontae Booker all have had to deal with academic issues, to varying degrees, but the Utes have shown a willingness to work through them and wait it out.
It's paid off handsomely: All have been key players this year, and all have scored touchdowns.
Without those newcomers and others like Gionni Paul and Andre Godfrey, there's no victory in Corvallis.
"The recruiting clicked," Whittingham said. "I think we've done a nice job assembling more talent, more speed."
Then there were position switches galore, even into fall camp. Both of Utah's starting corners didn't play the position last year. Utah has also made a habit of playing its defensive linemen at linebacker, one of the thinnest position groups. Jason Fanaika was the most recent transplant there, and when that wasn't working as well, the Utes plugged in Jacoby Hale — Whittingham earlier had said Thursday might be too early to use him.
The receiver group was highly touted going into the year, with the tandem of Dres Anderson and Kenneth Scott growing big expectations. But Utah hasn't been married to that vision either, as quarterbacks struggle and dropped passes have piled up. For instance, given first and goal six yards out in the fourth quarter, the Utes gave the ball to Booker four straight times. Scott played extremely limited snaps until the very end, when his primary job appeared to be run blocking.
Whittingham will ride the hot hand if he must. He'll fake punts, or call onside kicks, or run return reverses, or play his athletes in different positions, or start walk-ons. He'll leave question marks on the depth chart if it creates even the slightest doubt in an opponent's game plan, or even if it doesn't. He's had two losing seasons in a row, and he'll have no more if he can help it.
Anything to win. Anything. And with the team's toughest games ahead, who knows what we might see next.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
USC at Utah
O Saturday, Oct. 25 8:15 p.m.
TV • FS1