There’s not much that can surprise Kyle Whittingham anymore.
Utah’s head coach has been leading the program for 20 seasons. He’s won two Pac-12 championships and been through four different conference transitions — three as a head coach, one as an assistant. But, as No. 12 Utah (3-0) gets set to take on No. 14 Oklahoma State (3-0) at 2 p.m. MT in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Whittingham will take part in his first Big 12 conference game.
He will also go head to head with OSU head coach Mike Gundy for the first time, who — like the Utes head coach — is one the winningest head coaches in college football. For Utah, it has College Football Playoff and Big 12 Championship implications, as it’s their first ranked matchup of the season.
“It’s conference play from here on out, and it starts out with Oklahoma State,” Whittingham said on Monday. “It’s tough place to play. ... There’s a lot of similarities between the two programs. Coach (Mike) Gundy has done a great job there for a lot of years.
“So it should make for a good matchup, and it’ll be an intriguing start for us in our official conference game in the Big 12.”
Ahead of the contest, Utah will prepare for the Cowboys’ daunting rushing attack led by Ollie Gordon II, who has 62 carries, 216 rushing yards and four touchdowns in three games this season. So far his numbers have been down from the 2023 season, where he averaged 6.1 yards per carry. In 2024, the former All-American running back is only tallying 3.5 yards per rush, but the Utes are preparing for him like he’s one of the best running backs in college football.
The matchup comes after Utah’s defense, which ranks 22nd in the nation, struggled against Utah State’s rushing attack. USU running back Rahsul Faison finished with a season-high 115 rushing yards and 19 carries last Saturday, after logging only 54 yards against USC’s new-look defense.
“We’re gonna have to be good tacklers,” Whittingham said of Gordon. “He’s a guy that breaks a lot of tackles. He’s a big back, who is over 6-feet and over 220 pounds. He just wears you out. He’s kind of a bully back there, and that’s his style and very rarely is the first guy gonna stop his charge, but it’s have to be a concerted effort by the whole front seven to to gang tackle and and wrap up.
FILE - Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II (0) runs past BYU safety Crew Wakley (38) for a touchdown in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Stillwater, Okla. Oklahoma State won seven of its last eight games during sophomore running back Gordon's breakout as the nation's leading rusher and is in the Big 12 title game for the second time in three seasons. (AP Photo/Mitch Alcala, File)
“We didn’t do a good job of that early in the game this past weekend,” Whittingham said. “But he’s got all our respect and all our attention, and he’s a guy that one of the premier backs in the country.”
Last week, Utah’s star senior linebacker, Karene Reid, missed the Utes’ contest against the Aggies for an undisclosed reason. In his absence, linebackers Sione Fotu, Lander Barton and Jonathan Hall had to step up, combining for 12 total tackles. Whittingham says that not having Reid manning the defense impacted Utah’s ability to defend the run.
Reid has eight tackles through two appearances this season. He finished 2023 with 67 total tackles and one interception, making him one of the Utes’ most impactful returning defensive starters in 2024.
“You put your best guys out there for a reason,” Whittingham said. “He’s a team leader. He’s a very experienced, very fundamentally and technique sound linebacker that does everything right, and seldom, if ever, makes a mental mistake. So he’s one of our captains, so he definitely provides a lot, brings a lot to the table, and you do miss those guys when they’re not there.”
While it’s yet to be seen if Reid will be active for the highly pivotal matchup vs. the Cowboys, Whittingham knows the Utes’ rushing defense will have to improve.
Without it, they might not be victorious.