Utah's Offense Expected To Thrive Against UCLA's Lackluster Defense

After hearing all offseason how the offense — led by either Jake Bentley or Cameron Rising — will be expected to lead the way this year, they'll have the chance to prove that on Saturday night

The old adage is that defense wins championships. While I believe that to be true, unfortunately for Utah and head coach Kyle Whittingham it hasn't quite been as simple as that.

Over the past two seasons, the Utes have had the Pac-12's best defense and one of the tops in the nation. But twice they've come up short of winning the conference title game despite making appearances in both of them after winning back-to-back Pac-12 south division titles.

This season promises something entirely different as Utah will be reloading its typical vaunted defense, meaning that a bunch of inexperienced freshmen and sophomores are expected to play vital roles.

So now Whittingham and co. will have a chance to reverse that old adage and prove that a talented offense can in fact win a championship — and it all begins with Saturday's season opener at UCLA. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m. MT.

After a phenomenal fall camp, Utah wide receiver Bryan Thompson is ready to be the breakout star of the season / Courtesy of Utah Athletics

"We're committed to doing whatever it takes to win," Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig said. "So if the strength of the offense is on the perimeter, and the quarterbacks are up to the task, then things will open up, and I really feel like last year we played to the strengths of who we were and stayed true to who we were through the course of the season."

The good news for the Utes is that they'll get to unveil this new offense against the Bruins, a team that just gave up 48 points to a Colorado offense breaking in a new head coach, new QB and two new top WR's, as well as a suspect offensive line. 

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The Bruins gave up 264 yards on the ground and 261 yards through the air, as the Buffaloes averaged 4.5 yards per rush and 11.9 yards per catch. 

UCLA's defense is nowhere near the strength of its program, and that should bode extremely well for a Utah squad looking to transition this from a primarily power-based offense to one that features more of a spread attack with multiple weapons on the outside.

Four of the five starters return at offensive line, led by all-Pac-12 players Nick Ford and Orlando Umana. The running backs are young but possess a tremendous amount of overall talent with three players vying for the starter's role.

Courtesy of Utah Athletics

The pass catchers are blessed with size, speed and athleticism as Bryan Thompson looks like a new man. Tight end Brant Kuithe should be an All-American candidate while the return of Britain Covey makes the pass-catchers look like some of the best in the conference.

Nov 30, 2019; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes tight end Brant Kuithe (80) past Colorado Buffaloes linebacker Nate Landman (53) for a fourth quarter touchdown at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

That's why Whittingham said the ultimate factor in deciding who would be named the starting quarterback came down to accuracy. Whoever would be able to get the ball out to all of Utah's playmakers quickly and accurately would emerge as the leader, and that's a big indication regarding what Utah's offense will look like.

Many believe that Bentley has the advantage if it comes down to accuracy simply because of his experience. If the offense was going to stay with a power-running game, it was widely expected that Rising would emerge seeing as how he's the better athlete and more of a threat at extending drives with his legs.

“I won’t say obvious but it was apparent that one had outperformed the other two,” Whittingham said. “So it wasn’t a case where we had none of the three performing the level needed to because all three were performing very well. But one of them separated himself and in enough separation where it was pretty unanimous as far as the coaching staff as to what direction we’re going to go. Now, Andy (Ludwig) obviously has the most say — I guess I would have the most say — I really trust Andy and rely on him and lean on him for those decisions, and we were in the same camp on this one.”

Opening up the season against UCLA's defense is the perfect situation for the Utes. It will allow to them to iron a few wrinkles early on, but develop a really good chemistry early on that will pay huge dividends the rest of the season. 

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