Hackett: Utah’s Game Against Oregon State Like Another Bye
Oct 3, 2019, 4:29 PM
The Utah Utes take the field against the Idaho State Bengals in NCAA football in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 14, 2019. (Ravell Call, Deseret News)
(Ravell Call, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After the Utes put a whopping on Washington State and quarterback Tyler Huntley played the best game of his college career, the team has a couple of weeks off, because let’s be honest, no one sees Oregon State as a challenge. The placement of the bye couldn’t have come at a better time.
So far the Utes have beat BYU, Northern Illinois, Idaho State and Washington State. Their only loss was a heartbreaker against USC.
This is the first bye on the schedule for Whittingham and the Utes, the second comes in early November after what is presumably the toughest game on the schedule at Washington.
Francis Bernard & @_SNOOP1 have been named the @pac12 defensive & offensive players of the week 🙌#UBoyz pic.twitter.com/dRbt5lIlhI
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) September 30, 2019
Utah resumes play on October 12 against the Beavers in Corvallis. Oregon State sits at 1-3 on the season, their only win coming against Cal Poly. The Beavers have suffered losses against Oklahoma State, Hawaii and Stanford.
Injury Recovery
The biggest reason this bye week benefits the Utes is because of the recovery time it provides to players like Zack Moss and Julian Blackmon.
The star runningback Moss suffered a shoulder injury against USC. The injury is not season-ending, so an extra week to heal may be just what the doctor ordered.
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“We hope so. We have 11 more days now. We think we can get there, but no guarantees of course,” Whittingham commented about Moss’ return timeline.
Blackmon hasn’t been 100 percent since the game against NIU. Leki Fotu, a key on the defensive line, wasn’t completely healthy for every game. He was sidelined against Idaho State.
The Utes are a little banged up, as any football team can expect to be at this point in the season, so this extra week will provide much-needed recovery time.
Julian Blackmon comes up with a HUGE open field tackle in the red zone and Washington State turns the ball over on downs with 9:14 left in the game. #WSUvsUTAH #GoUtes
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 29, 2019
Lost Momentum?
With a bye week comes the worry of a team losing momentum, especially after it seems the Utes found their stride and established themselves against Washington State.
So…. you are saying @Utah_Football has a chance at the @CFBPlayoff. pic.twitter.com/60bZ0zWvIs
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) September 26, 2019
This may be a concern if Utah’s tougher games (Washington) were coming after the bye, but against the Beavers, Utah will have at least a quarter to be able to iron out any wrinkles.
Under Whittingham, the Utes are 10-5 coming off bye weeks, so the team has history on their side.
The team is getting this Friday, Saturday and Sunday off which will give the players a chance to relax, sit on the couch and watch their future opponents beat each other up.
Oregon State travels to the Rose Bowl to take on the 1-4 Bruins on Saturday night. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. and can be watched on Pac 12 Network.
