This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Ten observations, conclusions and suggestions stemming from the Utah-BYU and Utah State bowl games, amid my anger that Leap Year means having to endure an extra day until the Sept. 1 season openers …
1 • The Las Vegas Bowl's sequence of postgame news conferences resembled the "Bridesmaids" scene where Kristen Wiig and Rose Byrne kept grabbing the microphone and trying to top one another's tributes to the bride. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall spoke proudly of his team's comeback, then Utah's Kyle Whittingham appeared and reminded everyone the Utes actually won the game and then BYU athletic director Tom Holmoe reconvened the group and announced his hiring of former Utah assistant coach Kalani Sitake.
All that was missing was Utah athletic director Chris Hill stopping by to point out that BYU didn't get Whittingham.
2 • Utah needs to move beyond having Whittingham's status seem like a year-to-year question. Contracted through 2018, he deserves another extension after a 10-3 season when the Utes tied for first in the Pac-12 South. Yet the issues with Utah's offense are troubling enough that Hill can't offer Whittingham anything quite like basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak's contract, which runs until 2023.
3 • The Utes, Cougars and Aggies produced some remarkable stretches of offensive futility.
In the Las Vegas Bowl, five of BYU's first 15 plays resulted in turnovers, including two interceptions returned for touchdowns. After scoring on its first three drives of 25, 1 and 39 yards in contributing to a 35-0 lead, Utah punted on its next six possessions. One of those drives went three plays, followed by a successful fake punt, then three more plays. So the Utes essentially had six three-and-out sequences in a row.
USU's first 12 plays vs. Akron in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Josh Heupel's last game as offensive coordinator, netted minus-5 yards, with four punts — representing an upgrade over BYU's first five possessions in Las Vegas.
4 • All three offenses deserve some credit for responding to those failures. The Utes pieced together two drives that lasted more than five minutes each (ending with fourth-down stops) in the second half and then ran out the clock via Joe Williams' determined runs for two first downs after BYU cut the lead to 35-28.
After his 4-for-15 start with three interceptions that were not all his fault, BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum went 21 of 41 the rest of the day.
Statistically, USU's quarterback rotation can't be blamed for the Aggies' 23-21 loss in Boise. Chuckie Keeton and Kent Myers combined to go 28 of 45 for 232 yards and three touchdowns after the slow start. But the plan ultimately failed because of USU's inability to finish drives.
5 • Keeton did some historic things in Logan and will be well-remembered for his performance on and off the field. Yet he finished 20-15 as a starting quarterback, while other Aggie QBs went 23-9 during those five seasons. Utah's Travis Wilson ended up 24-15, with the second-most wins in school history. BYU's Taysom Hill, whose future is undetermined with a year's eligibility remaining, is 15-6. Mangum is 8-4, one-fourth of the way to Max Hall's victory total.
6 • The Tribune's preseason theme highlighting the convergence of senior quarterbacks at the three schools seemed like a good idea at the time. If we could do it over, defensive players Gionni Paul of Utah, Bronson Kaufusi of BYU and Kyler Fackrell or Nick Vigil of USU would be featured.
7 • Utah intercepted 22 passes this season, the program's most pickoffs since 1979. Imagine that only two years ago, the Utes recorded three interceptions — and one of them came on their opponents' last possession of the year. The defense's disruptive nature validates Whittingham's claim of the best group in the Pac-12. Yet the defense has to absorb some blame for allowing four long touchdown drives against both USC and BYU, in addition to giving up 37 points in a double-overtime loss at Arizona.
8 • USU's bowl defeat cost the Aggies (6-7) a fifth consecutive winning season and kept the state's five Division I programs from making collective history. Never have all five schools posted winning records in the same year, although this season's combined record was an impressive 39-23.
And we'll always have Oct. 16-17. All five teams won home games that weekend, the first such occurrence since 1983 (credit to fan Cameron Diehl's research).
9 • Utah's offensive performance with 197 total yards and no points in the final 49 minutes resembled its 2010 Las Vegas Bowl showing vs. Boise State. That night, with Terrance Cain at quarterback, the Utes posted 200 yards and failed to score in the last 45 minutes. Utah finished 10-3 in each season, with Aaron Roderick calling the plays.
Norm Chow replaced Roderick in that role in 2011, followed by Brian Johnson, Dennis Erickson and Dave Christensen. The fallout of Utah's 2015 offensive struggles so far is the departure of receivers coach Taylor Stubblefield.
New offensive coordinators will take over at BYU and USU, though. That position is vital to Sitake's success in Provo. If he's willing to do it, Ty Detmer would fit well, with all of his NFL experience as a backup quarterback — practically a coach.
In Logan, with Heupel departing for Missouri, coach Matt Wells personally should take over the offense.
10 • Does Sitake know what he's getting into next season? If the games were played this week, BYU might be an underdog against eight of its first nine opponents — all but Toledo, never mind that the Rockets finished 10-2. Arizona (7-6), Utah (10-3), UCLA (8-4), West Virginia (7-5), Toledo (10-2), Michigan State (12-1), Mississippi State (8-4), Boise State (9-4) and Cincinnati (7-5) are a combined 78-34, with some bowl games to come.
Twitter: @tribkurt —
2015 records
Utah • 10-3
BYU • 9-4
Southern Utah • 8-4
Weber State • 6-5
Utah State • 6-7
2016 season openers
• Southern Utah at Utah, Sept. 1
• Weber State at Utah State, Sept. 1
• BYU vs. Arizona, Sept. 3 (Glendale, Ariz.)