Struggling Utes will make ‘tough decisions’ in the next 48 hours, Kyle Whittingham says

After the throng of Utah coaches and players had shuffled into the tunnel of Rice-Eccles Stadium, Andy Ludwig followed slowly behind.

Utah’s offensive coordinator was alone, clearly downcast in the wake of Utah’s third-straight defeat.

And after another miserable offensive showing, Ludwig’s boss was clear that something must change.

“Everything’s up in the air right now,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Everything’s up for evaluation, and we will evaluate.”

The Utes (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) were defeated by TCU (3-3, 2-2) 13-7 on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. For the third straight game, their offense was abysmal. They punted on 11 out of their 14 total drives. They were 2 for 15 on third downs. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson was sacked four times and completed 52% of his passes.

Utah’s head coach said there will be some tough decisions made in the next 24-48 hours.

“The positive is we know exactly where our problem lies,” Whittingham said. “What we have to do to fix it is our job as coaches. The players are playing hard — I’m not throwing any player under the bus. But, it’s tough to figure out. If you would have told me we’d hold them to 13 points. I thought we’d win 20 out of 20 times.

“There’s no there’s no mystery as to what our issues are. It’s been showing for three weeks in a row now. We’ve got to, look at everything really hard in the next 24-48 hours, make some tough decisions and then see where we’re at.”

The Utes will clearly have to look at Ludwig and his playcalling.

Utah’s offense ranked second to last in the Pac-12 last season, as the Utes played without quarterback Cam Rising. History has seemingly repeated itself in 2024. Utah’s offense ranks near the bottom of the Big 12 in total offense. They lead the conference in interceptions thrown. Utah’s offense has eclipsed 30 points only two times (against Southern Utah and Utah State) this season.

Something, clearly, isn’t working.

It caused Wilson to issue an apology to Utah’s defense, which rebounded from back-to-back poor performances on Saturday night.

“As the whole offensive unit, we want to apologize to the defense,” Wilson said. “It’s a team game, but they played their butts off. We need need to step up with up more than seven points a game.”

Time will tell what changes Whittingham decides to make.

But something has to give.

Whittingham knows it. The players know it. The fans, which booed the Utes off the field at halftime, know it.

“I guess we’re fine, other than, you know, scoring points, making first downs, running the ball, throwing the ball efficiently or making a conversion on third or fourth downs,” Whittingham deadpanned. “Other than that, I think we’re OK.”

Defense the lone bright spot in the loss

After struggling for two consecutive weeks, the Utes’ defense got back on track against TCU.

They held the Horned Frogs to a season-low 13 points on Saturday night. Utah also forced one turnover and blocked a field goal. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover finished the contest 22 of 41 with 263 passing yards and one rushing touchdown.

“Very proud of our defense,” Whittingham said. “To hold that crew to 13 points, and what they’ve been doing this year with really, essentially no help field position wise, or staying off the field, I’m very proud of the defenders.”

Last week ASU running back Cam Skattebo rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns on Utah’s defense. The Horned Frogs were held to 133 rushing yards and an average of four yards per carry, a major improvement from a week ago.

“We played good defense,” Utah defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa said. “We played our butts off, and I’m very proud of my defense, our defense. But, we didn’t get it done tonight. We’re not a team that folds, and we’re not a team that quits. We’re going to find a way to go get next week.”

Whittingham responds boos from Utes fans

It’s not often that the Utes get booed on their home field.

But, due to a sluggish offensive outing and a third-straight loss, Utah fans let them hear it Saturday night.

Whittingham responded to the jeers from fans after the game.

“They have a right to do whatever they want,” he said. “They paid money for the tickets. If they’re not happy, and that’s the way they want to react, (that’s OK). We have played a lot of good football through the years and gave them a lot of positive things to be excited about, but certainly in the last few games there has not been anything to be excited about.”

Next, Utah will take on Houston (2-5, 1-3) on Saturday, Oct. 26 in Houston, Texas.

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