This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Aaron Roderick walked out of the press box coaching booth, clasped his hands behind his head and sighed. After another episode of his Utah offense's doing just enough to win a football game Saturday night in Seattle, Roderick was relieved.
This is a continuing theme of a season that seems destined for an inevitable ending: The Utes will lose an important game, and it will be the offense's fault.
But what if they never lose? Regardless of their offensive limitations, the Utes (8-1) keep winning. The questions about the offense's production will persist — maybe even through New Year's Day in the Rose Bowl, as a potential conclusion for a Pac-12 championship team that misses the College Football Playoff.
Or could you picture Utah in the Playoff, with this offense? By now, it should be obvious that the 2015 Utes just are who they are — and everybody will just have to live with this quarterback, this coaching staff and this offensive approach as dictated by Kyle Whittingham. They're making it work, somehow.
A few days after a recent defeat of Oregon State, Roderick defended his strategy as co-offensive coordinator and play-caller in a game when the Utes attempted only 17 passes. "I know some people might not be happy about it, but stats are for losers," Roderick said in his monthly media availability. "There's a lot of teams that have nice stats that are .500 teams, and that's where they'll be at the end of the year."
And then the Utes produced only 346 total yards in a 34-23 win over Washington, falling further in the offensive rankings to 79th in the country — and rising to No. 10 in the AP Top 25, with similar treatment likely to come Tuesday in the CFP rankings. The whole thing is maddening to many fans and fascinating to me.
Whittingham reminds me of Ben Hogan, a ball-striking purist who basically thought putting should be eliminated from golf. If he could sign up to play 60 minutes of defense in some revolutionary scoring system, Whittingham would do so.
The evidence for that theory is his experimenting with fast-tempo offense, only to revert to a traditional pace. He can say he wants more downfield passing — and the Utes did deliver a few more big plays, among Travis Wilson's 12 completions in 25 attempts Saturday — but he undoubtedly loved Devontae Booker's 34 runs in Utah's 70 offensive plays.
The offense produces frustrating moments in every game, including a three-and-out sequence in the last minute of the first half, wasting a great scoring opportunity (with a Booker run among the failed play-calls). Nobody could conclude after nine games that Whittingham finally has solved his program's offensive inconsistency by making Roderick and line coach Jim Harding his co-coordinators.
It is worth wondering if Utah will ever have a dynamic offense under Whittingham. Yet if he becomes the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, his assistants will share in the recognition. Yes, even the offensive guys. "We're just working so good together as an offensive staff," said running backs coach Dennis Erickson. "There's no egos, no anything … It's been a lot of fun."
The offensive staff clearly is maximizing Booker's talent, which is the No. 1 thing anybody should demand of this staff. He's ticketed for another 1,500-yard season at the very least, pending the number of games the Utes play. As for Wilson's performance, the best (and worst) that could be said is he has been adequate. The fact is, he has played up to his ability.
Except for the loss at USC — where the defense allowed four long touchdown drives, aside from Wilson's four interceptions — he has been good enough for Utah to win games. He's 22-13 in four years as a starting QB, having moved ahead of Alex Smith for No. 2 on the school's career victories list.
The math gets interesting now, as Wilson targets Brian Johnson's record of 26 wins with three regular-season games left.
The Utes could play in the Pac-12 title game and then a bowl game or even the national semifinals. Either way, Wilson could have five more opportunities to make himself part of Ute history for better, not worse.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
Utah's winningest quarterbacks
Player Years Rec
Brian Johnson 2005-08 26-7
Travis Wilson 2012-15 22-13
Alex Smith 2003-04 21-1
Mike McCoy 1992-94 18-9
Mike Fouts 1995-96 15-6