There were a number of things Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham didn’t like about the last time his Utes faced off against San Diego State.
Certainly, the coach left displeased with the 33-31 loss to the Aztecs — the game that saw Charlie Brewer’s time as a Ute come to an end, as Cam Rising took the reigns of the starting quarterback position.
Whittingham, who is not a fan of college football’s overtime rules, also disliked the way the triple-OT game was decided.
“I’d rather have it be an NFL model,” Whittingham said this week. “I don’t like the college model at all. Why play football one way for 60 minutes and then change it in overtime? Just keep playing football in a normal fashion and go from there.”
The NCAA amended its overtime rules this season, in hopes of reducing the number of plays it takes to decide a game. Teams must now go for a two-point conversion after a touchdown beginning in the second overtime; previously that happened in the third OT.
If the game goes to a third overtime — as Utah and San Diego State did last year — the teams begin running alternating two-point conversions, turning it into a sudden-death contest.
As Whittingham and the Utes prepare for a rematch with San Diego State this week, the longtime head coach said he wasn’t a fan of those changes either.
“I think the NFL model is great. There’s nothing wrong with it,” Whittingham said. “And I would much rather play that way than this sudden death-type of thing.”
Injury updates
After the Utes football pulverized Southern Utah on Saturday, Whittingham said he would have to see what the extent of some in-game injuries would be. He provided good news Monday during his weekly news conference.
“No season-ending injuries,” Whittingham said.
But Utah does have a player dealing with something that caused him to leave Saturday’s game early. Linebacker Mohamoud Diabate, who transferred from Florida, left the game in the second quarter and did not return. Diabate’s injury caused Whittingham to shuffle his linebacker rotation a bit.
Diabate underwent shoulder surgery and missed all of spring camp. Whittingham did not go into specifics about what is ailing Diabate, who has 13 total tackles so far this season.
Whittingham to wide receivers: ‘Get open’
Tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Brant Kuithe got the lion’s share of passes thrown to them by Cam Rising against the Thunderbirds. They combined for 12 of the 19 targeted passes and accounted for 10 of the 16 receptions.
While Kincaid and Kuithe can certainly hold their own as receivers, that isn’t their main job. But through two games, Utah’s wide receivers haven’t been getting the ball much at all. Against Southern Utah, Money Parks and Jaylen Dixon caught the ball three times each, while DeVaughn Vele had only two catches.
Whittingham wants to see more production out of his receivers as the season goes on, stressing that the offense will be all the more dangerous if they’re a factor. And he feels the solution is simple.
“Get open more and demand the ball,” Whittingham said. “I’m not saying they’re getting gloved up, but quarterbacks like to throw to open guys.”
Whittingham said, though, that his tight ends will continue to get looks in the offense because they are just that good.
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