Gordon Monson: For Utah, BYU football, it’s time to get real

“We all come to the point where it’s time to get yourself straight … whatever you are in life. It’s tough love, but it’s also being real with yourself. It’s important to take those rose-colored glasses off and see what’s going on.” — Kelly Rowland

Take the glasses off or have them knocked off.

I don’t even know who Kelly Rowland is. It turns out she was a singer in the group Destiny’s Child and is now a solo artist and actor. It really doesn’t matter who she is, though. What matters is what she said. She might as well have been a head football coach for Utah or BYU. Why?

Here’s why: After a bunch of games in which the 3-0 Cougars and the 3-0 Utes fiddle-faddled around, in which they had some high moments, yes, but they could and did goof around a bit and still won, now it’s time for them to get themselves straight. It’s time for them to be real with themselves. Time to take off the rose-colored glasses and see who they are, what they are, what’s actually going on.

Time to fix the dips of uninspired play, of missed assignments, missed throws and catches and missed opportunities for more impeccable play.

BYU faces Kansas State, ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, on Saturday night. No. 12 Utah faces No. 14 Oklahoma State earlier in the day. Both of those opponents are not only highly ranked but highly respected, both are real, real good. Both are top-of-the-line Big 12 opponents.

This is when and how everybody gets more accurate information about the two Utah teams than anything that’s been revealed heretofore. It’s one thing for BYU to get by, beating SMU and Wyoming on the road, for Utah to beat Baylor at home and Utah State in Logan. It’s another to face down K-State and OK State.

For the Utes, this game might be the toughest of the regular season. It could be the key to preserving their intentions of winning the league in their initial year in it, seeing as they do not play Kansas or Kansas State.

Kyle Whittingham called the game in Stillwater, Okla., “a big one.”

“It’ll be a really good test,” he added. “We’ll see what happens. … It should make for a good matchup. An intriguing start as our first official conference game.”

It will be imperative for Cam Rising’s hand to be all healed up, capable without restriction for him to be himself, to spin the ball downfield and to lift his entire team’s confidence as he does so. Every Utah player — even the ones on defense — feels that if the senior quarterback is on the field, like Kenny Chesney sings it, “Everything’s gonna be all right.”

If he’s not and it’s not, Isaac Wilson appears to be on an ascent, so there’s that.

Better for Rising to be healthy and ready. He’ll also have to get back to finding Brant Kuithe more often than the QB combination of Rising and Wilson have done thus far. Why wouldn’t he? Kuithe’s a star. If the Cowboys’ defense doubles him, then make it pay by connecting with the guys who benefit from that fear-based freedom. Whittingham has said he looks to expand forward-turned-tight end Caleb Lohner’s role moving forward, utilizing his height and his athleticism.

Also, the Utes’ run game will have to be even more proficient than it was against a much weaker opponent in Utah State. There, Micah Bernard and others rolled up 221 yards, but it was somewhat herky-jerky en route.

Good news for Utah is that Oklahoma State gave up 20 points to South Dakota State and 31 to Arkansas. Opponents have thrown for slightly better than 305 yards per game and rushed for 157. The Razorbacks put up 232 rushing yards.

Utah’s defense, which yielded 140 yards on the ground to the Aggies, and seemed leaky in other ways over certain stretches, usually can be counted on to do what Morgan Scalley always says is his and its first priority: stop the run. The Utes should be able to limit it, at least.

The Cowboys are averaging 112 rushing yards and 3.4 per carry over three games, and they’ve picked up just 21 first downs on the ground. Still, speaking of OK State’s accomplished running back Ollie Gordon, Whittingham called him “kind of a bully. … It will have to be a concerted effort by the whole front seven to gang tackle and wrap up. He’s got all our respect, all out attention.”

And here’s the but: The Cowboys have picked up 41 first downs via the pass and averaged 334 yards through the air. The back of that Ute defense, did y’all catch that, or maybe just deflect it? Ball’s coming your way.

One other notable statistic: Oklahoma State’s attack is scoring just shy of 43 points per game.

BYU could hit the wall vs. Wildcats

As for BYU’s challenge, Kalani Sitake said it would be every bit of that. He called Kansas State a “really, really talented team. … A very dangerous team. It’ll be a test for us … difficult.”

Despite the 3-0 start, there have been undulations in BYU’s journey thus far. Sitake is happy to celebrate the high points and focus on fixing shortcomings like tackling, creating turnovers and converting third downs. That last one, the preservation of drives, is a hole the Cougars are looking to fill.

Sitake summed it up with this: “We’ll get better.”

They’ll have to.

K-State is scoring 36 points per, holding opponents to just 6.5. The Wildcats have moved the chains 30 times by the run, allowing opponents to gain just nine that way. They average 259 rushing yards, 161 via the pass. Opponents have rushed for a mere 46 yards per game. BYU’s defense, then, must stress the same thing Utah’s resistance focuses on — is there an echo in here? — stop the run. Slow it.

Kansas State has a feature that has traditionally caused distress for BYU defenses. It’s what defensive end Tyler Batty accurately described as a “dual-threat quarterback.”

Wildcats coach Chris Klieman called his QB something else: “A generationally talented kid.”

That would be sophomore Avery Johnson, a QB with a capable arm, speed, flowing locks and a hot-lavender Corvette, who has thrown thus far for 490 yards and rushed for 187, nicely complementing a strong two-back run game.

“He can do whatever you need a quarterback to do,” said Sitake.

With that in mind, you can almost hear the creepy voice on the other end of the phone saying what Liam Neeson’s character in the film “Taken” heard: “G-o-o-o-d l-u-u-u-c-k.”

Will BYU, a team that has been banged up in the running back room, be able to move the ball against that rugged Kansas State D? Not sure, but kind of doubt it. Maybe. Despite the injuries, the Cougars have averaged 151 rushing yards, while holding opponents to 105. I’ve always thought the most important position on the field, other than the quarterback, is the offensive line. They don’t get much of the glory, but anyone who knows anything about Walter Payton’s game is fully aware that the big boys up front, at every level of football, are a superior team’s heart and soul, its muscle and magic. The biggest Cougars have to be the best Cougars this time around by pass blocking and grading road.

Quarterback Jake Retzlaff looked comfortable against Southern Illinois and Wyoming, two teams incapable of mustering much resistance, but that comfort zone shrunk at SMU. All told, he’s averaging 280 passing yards, having thrown for seven touchdowns and three picks.

“He’s more comfortable, not just with the scheme, but being on the field as a starter,” Sitake said. “… It’s not perfect, but he’s getting there. He’s improving. He’s learning.”

“We all ride or die with Jake,” receiver Parker Kingston said.

BYU has nearly doubled its opponents in total offense, racking up 1,321 yards against 709, but, as mentioned, the Cougars have struggled on third downs. “We’ve just got to make plays,” Kingston said. They’ve made enough of them to storm for more than 200 more yards per game than their opponents. They’ve also averaged 31 points, while their foes have gotten 14.

The point here is, Kansas State and Oklahoma State are not like the other guys BYU and Utah have slapped around in the season’s first three weeks. They are more the slappers than the slap-ees. The Cougars are fortunate to get the Wildcats at LaVell’s Place, while the Utes must do their business at the stadium Boone Pickens built. No simple task.

“We’ll find out how good we are,” Sitake said.

Everyone will.

Nothing’s easy about this coming weekend. If it turns out to be that for BYU and Utah, then these teams will have proven themselves better than anybody thought they’d be. That’d be quite an achievement for the Utes, considering their overall favored status in the Big 12 and for BYU, too, a team that almost nobody thought would be a safe-and-serene 4-0 nearing the end of September.

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