As hundreds of Utah fans lumbered up the steps and filtered through the exits, the sound of raucous “U-of-A” chants echoed through the concourse of Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah players hung their heads low, trudging to the lockeroom and drowning in the feelings brought on by their defeat.
It was that kind of night in Salt Lake City. One where nothing worked. One where Utah’s offense was stymied for most of the game. One where the Utes uncharacteristically lacked their intense identity on defense.
Just ask Micah Bernard.
“You see it all over my face,” the senior running back said. “Not many words, I’m just pissed.”
No. 10 Utah (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) was upset by Arizona (3-1, 1-1) 23-10 on Saturday night, which was due, in part, to missed scoring opportunities on offense and missed tackles on defense. Not only was it Utah’s first loss of the season, but it was also their first defeat to an unranked team at home since 2018.
“We did not score points when they were there to be scored,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “That’s the name of the game. We have to score points to win. We just didn’t do it. 10 points will win you probably zero games in this day and age of football.
“We have to get better.”
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes head coach Kyle Whittingham discusses a call by the official, in Big-12 football action between the Utes and the Arizona Wildcats at Rice-Eccles Stadium, on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024.
Coming off arguably its biggest win of the season vs. Oklahoma State a week ago, Utah looked flat-footed and unenergized against the Wildcats. The Utes struggled in the red zone, finishing with a season-low 10 points and a 2-of-4 mark when in scoring position.
Utah drove all the way down the field on their first three drives, only to be stopped short on fourth down twice before eventually coming away with a lone field goal.
It’s the second week in a row that Utah’s offense has left points on the field. Against OSU, the Utes went 3-of-4 in the red zone but only came away with 13 points. Whittingham, in his weekly news conference on Monday, said it was an area his team needed to improve on vs. Arizona.
Instead of heeding his concerns, the Utes offense looked worse. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson, who had two interceptions in the game, and Bernard chalked up the miscues to a lack of execution.
“We’re not executing well enough,” Bernard said. “We have the right play calls. We just have to go on the field and execute. We’re not doing that. I think that’s going to be an emphasis for the next few weeks. It should be emphasized because this is unacceptable for us.”
Wilson added: “I have to be better on those interceptions. I know better. I shouldn’t put the team in that situation. I felt like we were driving the ball up and down the field the whole time but (couldn’t execute) in the red zone.”
Whittingham, on the other hand, put the issues on himself and the coaching staff. He keyed in on a lack of creative playcalling.
“It starts with me,” Whittingham said. “The buck stops right here. If we don’t have a good enough arsenal of plays and enough creativity down there, then that’s something we have to look at.”
Alongside their offensive struggles, the Utes’ defense missed tackles and couldn’t sack Arizona quarterback Noah Fifita. He finished with 197 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Fifita’s best throw of the game came on a 35-yard touchdown pass to Wildcats receiver Kenyan Burnett.
That play ended any chance of a Utah comeback attempt. Outside of Fifita’s dominance, Arizona ran the ball 30 times for 161 yards and had an average of 5.4 yards per carry. After the game, Whittingham described Utah’s defensive effort as “discouraging.”
“Yeah, that was discouraging,” Whittingham said. “Tackling has been one of our strong suits for years, and this is back-to-back weeks” where the Utes have struggled.
“We’ve got to do a better job of coming to balance and wrapping up,” the coach continued.
As Utah pivots to its bye week, it finds itself at eighth in the Big 12 standings.
The season isn’t over, but this was a game that everyone including the fans, players and coaches expected to win.
Now the Utes will have to sit with their mistakes through the bye, go over film and nitpick all of their miscues on both offense and defense. In the words of Whittingham, “It should hurt.”
But it doesn’t mean their chase for a Big 12 title is over. It just makes their journey a little harder.
And, maybe, seventh-year starting quarterback Cam Rising will finally return to the lineup after missing the last three weeks due to a right hand injury. Whittingham said the Utes’ QB was close to being able to play Saturday night.
That, certainly, would provide a light at the end of the tunnel.
“All is not lost,” Whittingham said. “I don’t want to paint the picture that the season is over because we have a good football team. But we have to have everybody recommit and rededicate themselves and finish the second half of the season strong.”
