Going into the bye, and off of the loss to Washington, there was a bad taste in my mouth for the offense, and I’m hoping this game against Washington State can be a pallet cleanser. It’s a big game for the Utes, and here are the keys for Utah to walk away with the win.
Hold Wazzu to field goals
Washington State is going to move the ball, that’s what they do under Mike Leach. What Utah needs to do is keep them out of the end zone and only give up field goals. Utah also can’t get frustrated when Wazzu picks up some 3rd downs, as long as they play the long game in this and keep Wazzu out of the end zone, they can walk away with the win.
Be strong on the backend
Wazzu is going to throw the ball 60 times, more than likely, and Utah’s corners have to stay locked in the entire game, and not let someone get behind them for a cheap one. They also need to be strong tackling the pass catchers, so they don’t pick up some cheap yards after a completion. These guys are going to get a ton of run, and there may be some chances for them to come away with some picks, and they need to be disciplined and opportunities when the opportunity arises.
Offense has to apply pressure
The offense has to do some defense some favors in this game and help keep Wazzu on the field on defense. If Utah can have sustained drives, that will go a long way in this game. Not only that, Utah has to put pressure on Wazzu by scoring points and not making this a game where the defense is on the field or playing uphill all game long. The key here is for Utah to feed Moss, assuming he’s healthy enough to have a full workload. Everyone is interested to see what the offense looks like coming out of the bye week, because that performance against UW was disappointing to say the least. Also, the receivers need to catch the ball.
Utah’s been on the wrong end of this match up for a while now, and while this is not a must win game for the Utes, it’s about as close as you can get.