Utah football: Good for a Wynn

The Utah Utes' biggest trick on Halloween was a new quarterback.

With an offense more stagnant than dynamic and the Utes trailing to team they should be blowing out, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham called for freshman Jordan Wynn to rally the Utes on Saturday against Wyoming.

He didn't set the world on fire, but he did provide the spark Whittingham was looking for as the Utes rallied to defeat the Cowboys 22-10 in front of 44,837 at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Calling for Wynn was the second major change for the No. 19 Utes (7-1, 4-0) Saturday. The first was bringing offensive coordinator Dave Schramm down to the field and sending wide receivers coach Aaron Roderick up to the booth to call plays.

Whittingham said

both the quarterback and coaching changes were made because the Utes needed to find something to lift them out of their offensive doldrums.

While the play calling wasn't much different, mistakes still stalled drives and the result was similar to others the Utes have had this season as they mustered just enough offense to win, the changes made enough of a difference to possibly stick the rest of the season.

Those decisions won't be made until Whittingham has time to evaluate the film, he said.

But no film breakdown was necessary for anyone to see the Utes' offense was having another unproductive night in the first half. Starter Terrance Cain was 10-of-13 for 121 yards, but was sacked twice. The Utes were just 1-of-6

on third down conversions in the first half too, helping Whittingham make his decision to bring in Wynn with the Utes trailing 10-3.

"We were just trying to get some continuity on offense and rhythm," Whittingham said.

The Utes still had trouble finishing drives and settled for two field goals in the second half, but Wynn did provide the Utes a lift. He also provided the winning touchdown when he threw a 22-yard pass to Jereme Brooks with 7:35 remaining in the game that gave the Utes a 16-10 advantage.

Wynn was 3-for-3 for 38 yards in the drive and finished the game 9-of-14 for 82 yards.

"He is an incredibly smart football player," Whittingham said. "I've compared him to Alex Smith and I still make that comparison with his ability to check himself out of protections and correct things based on what the defense is doing. He does a lot of things that aren't really visible."

Wynn, who briefly was named the Utes starting quarterback in the fall before Cain overtook him, didn't know he was going to play until he was informed at halftime. Going into the game wasn't too much of an adjustment for him, he said, because he prepares every week like he is going to play.

"It was a lot of fun, I'll tell you that," he said. "Coach Schramm told me I was coming in at halftime and I knew I could play well because I had prepared all week."

As has been the case so many times, the Utes still had to rely on their defense too much to win the game, but once again it pulled through for them. Wyoming had just 74 yards offense in the second half.

After the Utes went ahead, Wyoming's next drive ended with a pass that was deflected into the hands of corner R.J. Stanford for an interception. Wyoming quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels was sacked on fourth-and-six on the Cowboys' next drive and the clock ran out on the Cowboys on their final drive.

"The defense really won it for us tonight," Wynn said.

The question now is what Wynn can do for the Utes. Whittingham said he'll make a decision on Monday which quarterback will start against New Mexico, but now that Wynn has played and can't redshirt, expectations might be higher of Wynn in the future.

"Terrance didn't play poorly, but we have to find a way to finish drives and we didn't do that," Whittingham said. "Tonight was a great opportunity to give Jordan the reins and see what happens."

lwodraska@sltrib.com