Kragthorpe: Utes are on an upswing after November, but the Pac-12 South is getting even tougher

In a tent outside Oregon’s Autzen Stadium, Utah football coach Kyle Whittingham summarized his team’s October. “Miserable,” he said. “Yeah, miserable month.”

November was better. With wins over UCLA and Colorado, plus an almost-upset of Washington, the Utes produced their strongest ending of a regular season in the Pac-12 era. That’s not saying much, in a program that has become known for November disappointment. Utah’s four-game losing streak in October made merely becoming bowl-eligible feel like an achievement.

Yet with an emerging offense, the Utes have created more of a promising future for themselves than at any time in this decade. The way they played against Washington in a 33-30 loss and against Colorado in a 34-13 victory, totaling 900-plus yards of offense, is a good sign.

The only thing the Utes did wrong this past weekend was they couldn’t stop UCLA from hiring Chip Kelly.

The landscape of the Pac-12 South is both encouraging and sobering for Utah. In addition to USC, which apparently has stopped kidding around, the Utes are competing with UCLA and Arizona State. Those schools finished ahead of them this season, yet paid a combined $24 million to fire their coaches. That’s how serious they are about competing in this division.

UCLA’s landing Kelly was a breakthrough for the Bruins. He went 33-3 in Pac-12 play as Oregon’s coach from 2009-12, and now he’s in the South. ASU may not match that splash, but the Sun Devils are making a statement that second place in the division is not good enough.

In the six years they spent together in the league, UCLA’s Jim Mora (46-30) and ASU’s Todd Graham (46-31) posted better records than Whittingham (44-31), and they’re out of work. In Whittingham’s defense, once the Utes got some traction in the Pac-12, his 34-17 record (19-17 in conference play) of the past four seasons is markedly better than Mora’s and Graham’s.

The problem is that if Kelly and ASU’s new coach do what Mora and Graham did for those programs with initial jolts of success, Utah will have even more trouble winning a South title. The Utes’ challenge is to follow through immediately with whatever momentum they’ve generated in November and contend in 2018, when some degree of upheaval in the division gives them an opportunity.

The Utes are on an upswing, thanks to their offensive improvement, even if they finished only 3-6 in conference play. Utah rose above last place in the South as Colorado completed its cycle of going from worst to first and back to worst. Meeting the Buffaloes in the last game of the regular season, which will temporarily become BYU’s domain in 2018, tends to make the Utes feel better about themselves.

That was true again Saturday, although Whittingham didn’t sound exactly giddy. Bowl eligibility “beats the alternative,” he said. “If we’re sitting here at 5-7 and not going, we’re feeling pretty lousy. But it give us a little shot of adrenaline to get that win.”

The lasting impression of Utah’s November was better than some previous years, that’s for sure. My mind goes to these scenes: 2011, when a fumble and missed field goals kept the Utes from beating Colorado and ruined their best-ever shot at reaching the Pac-12 championship game; 2013 at Washington State, where star players Trevor Reilly and Jake Murphy apologized for missing a bowl; 2014 and ’15, when the Utes totaled 19 points in home losses to Arizona and UCLA that ended their division title hopes; and last November at Colorado, where Whittingham’s disgust with the offense boiled over and led to another staffing change.

Things look and feel different now. Utah’s offensive line has performed better lately with guard Jordan Agasiva back from injury, and this group should be solid next year with four returning starters. Raelon Singleton and Demari Simpkins have emerged as receivers, and returned missionary Britain Covey will fit nicely into offensive coordinator Troy Taylor’s scheme. Zack Moss is a 1,000-yard rusher and quarterback Tyler Huntley should improve.

So Utah has created some hope during what Whittingham labeled a frustrating season. The offense appears rejuvenated, as of late November. That’s the Utes’ biggest change, in a Pac-12 South where their rivals are making major alterations of their own.