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Please, no wind or rain. That's Troy Williams' one request on Thursday night.

The junior quarterback has made one other Division I start in his career: Oct. 26, 2014 for Washington, with swirling gusts blowing the downpour straight into his face. Williams was 18 for 26, but had only 139 yards and threw two passes to the wrong team.

It was a rough night, Williams said. He knew it would be going in."

"I knew the whole week it would probably be bad conditions," he said. But I try to put it behind me. Whether it was sun or rain, I was going to have to compete regardless."

The good news for Williams: There's only a 20 percent chance of rain on Thursday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium when he makes his debut for the Utes at quarterback. But that's not the forecast everyone else is interested in.

The expected sell-out crowd will be watching with hawkish interest, seeing if Williams, his receivers and the coaching staff has successfully made strides in the passing game — the one part of Utah's game that has consistently underachieved in what were otherwise strong showings the past two strong seasons.

How much can be learned about Utah's offensive overhaul — new quarterback, new receivers coach, new standouts expected to catch the ball — in one game against an FCS opponent? Maybe only a little, but the fans will still be taking notes.

Everyone on the offense knows there will be lots of scrutiny, and they've put it on themselves as well. Offensive co-coordinator Aaron Roderick said throughout camp that he hadn't gotten "a good night's sleep" since Utah's 17-9 loss to UCLA last year that all but ended their bid to become Pac-12 South champions. But coming out of fall camp, the Utes have projected nothing but confidence that things will change this year.

"We made a concerted effort across the board to make sure that we had sunk enough reps into the throw game to get where we need to be," coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Hopefully we're there, but we'll find out. In practice, we're there but that's just practice. Practice doesn't count."

The talk of "more emphasis" on the passing game is not just talk.

Aside from bringing in receivers coach Guy Holliday from BYU to shake up that position group, Whittingham himself has been more attentive to the receivers and the offense overall. In past years, Whittingham has spent more time with the defense, befitting a former linebacker. This season, though, he's devoted more time with the other side. Senior wideout Tim Patrick estimates Whittingham has been with either the offense as a whole, or position groups 80 percent of the time during practice.

"It has just shown he's interested," Patrick said. "To see our head coach with us, it makes us go harder and push harder. I don't know he has to say much — coach Holliday says plenty. Having him there is enough to make us work harder."

From spring to fall, in fact, players and coaches have described a very different picture in practice. Williams won the job in part because of an ability to throw down the field, but also run the offense consistently. The Utes' veteran secondary has been challenged more often by the receivers, especially on contested catches and 50-50 balls.

Utah had problems last year in those areas. Whittingham's press conferences seemed like a time loop: Every week, he would talk about the need for receivers to create separation, and for the passing game to find its rhythm.

Eventually, Utah's commitment to the passing game petered out: From 36 attempts against Arizona, to 26 against UCLA and Colorado, to 16 against BYU. The Utes finished second-to-last in the Pac-12 in passing yards, with 180 per game.

Whittingham has said that can't happen this year. He's been encouraged so far.

"They're practicing with a great deal of intensity and purpose," he said. "There have been far less drops than there have been in years past. The big play capability seems to be definitely on the rise in relation to the last couple of years."

The Utah faithful are hopeful that is true. Many other components to the team are considered rock-solid strengths. Multiple outlets have ranked Utah's defensive line and secondary as among the best units in the country. Utah's offensive line has four returning starters, and a five-star junior college prospect as the only newcomer. Running back Joe Williams has an uneviable task in filling the shoes of former all-conference back Devontae Booker, but he had a pair of 100-yard rushing games last year filling in.

Which is all to say that the passing game has to play its part. And while the Utes may not (and likely will not) unveil many of their best plays for the Thunderbirds, they have to show at least part of their hand.

They believe they will have something impressive to reveal.

"Just from where they were last year to now, there's been a complete difference," Patrick said. "When you see change and you see good change, you're going to be confident about it, and I really believe that we're going to make a statement this year." —

Southern Utah at Utah

Thursday, 6 p.m.

TV • Pac-12 Network —

SUU at Utah

P At Rice-Eccles Stadium

Kickoff » Thursday, 6 p.m.

TV » Pac-12 Network

Radio » 700 AM

Series history » First meeting