Utah Football: Keys To Victory Against The Houston Cougars
Oct 24, 2024, 6:14 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Football is on the road this weekend, as they travel to Texas to take on the 2-5, 1-3 Houston Cougars. Both teams are looking for wins to regain positive momentum in their respective campaigns. The Utes enter this desperate for a win after their first three-game losing streak since 2017.
How To Watch Utah vs Houston
Television: ESPN+
Streaming: Fubo, YouTube TV
Radio: ESPN 700 AM / 92.1 FM
On the road to 𝐇-𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧 🚀
🆚 Houston
🏟️ TDECU Stadium
⏰ SAT 10.26 | 5:00PM MT
📺 ESPN+
📻 ESPN 700 AM / 92.1 FM#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/JS2nHtLzTL— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) October 21, 2024
RELATED: Utah Offensive Coordinator Andy Ludwig Steps Down
Utah vs Houston Records
Records: Utah (4-3, 1-3); Houston (2-5, 1-3)
Last Week: Utah loss to TCU, 13-7; Houston loss to Kansas, 42-12
Series History: These two teams have not played each other since 1978 but the Cougars own a 4-0 series lead.
Getting off to a good start is important in this one, here are the keys to Utah’s matchup against the Houston Cougars.
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Utah Key To Victory No. 1 – A dominant defensive effort
Giving up just 16.4 points per game, Utah is currently No. 12 in the country in points allowed. It’s the best mark since 2019 when that defense allowed just 15.0 points per game. This group hasn’t been perfect- missed tackles and takeaway opportunities, but at the end of the day, it’s all about the points on the board.
However, this group has yet to have that truly dominant performance. In 2019, there were six games the defense limiting opponents to single digits or scoreless. That’s what this unit is aiming to provide the team moving forward.
This Houston Cougars offense has not been very good this season. They currently average just 13.7 points per game and 303.0 yards per game, both of which are league lows in the Big 12. Houston has struggled to throw the ball efficiently at just 166.6 yards per game and has thrown 10 interceptions as well. Up front, the Cougars aren’t finding much traction at just 136.4 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry.
Obviously, Houston just isn’t the best offensive unit this season but this is the sort of stylistic matchup that Utah has traditionally taken advantage of as well. It’ll be up to this unit to eliminate the option-run game and make them one-dimensional. When the defense does that, it bodes well for them, and that’s what Utah needs tomorrow.
Key To That: Taking on the mindset
Utah’s defensive players want to be dominant and they know they need more disruption to accomplish that. A greater rate of havoc plays and takeaways are the things that can elevate this unit to that next level. Those two things have become a greater point of emphasis for coaches.
The players have talked about it more and more, so it’s simply a matter of the defense capitalizing on their opportunities. But it has to be that when they get the first one, they need to be just as hungry for the next one, and the next one. It has to be at the forefront of their mindset, a competition among players to make plays, that’s what the Utah defense needs tomorrow. To be dominant defensively, there has to be an unsatiable appetite for their competitive effort, proper fundamentals, and playmaking.
RELATED: Utah Football Working Through Transition In Preparation For Houston Cougars
Utah Key To Victory No. 2 – Stepping Up O-Line Play
Beyond the predictability of the offense, the most disappointing aspect of the offensive performance was the blocking.
Let’s start by acknowledging that the TCU defense was incredibly aggressive. The Horned Frogs blitzed 51% of all pass plays, more than 20% more than their season average. They were on their toes anticipating Utah to run the ball the entire game as well. They were simply a defense that played downhill all night without fear of consequences.
Unfortunately, to compound that, Utah made too many errors in blocking schemes throughout the night. Typically, breakdowns in the trenches occur because of poor communication. Linemen have to communicate pre- and post-snap to reach their highest performance levels. That led to eight tackles for loss and four sacks on the night for TCU.
Now, that’s not to say the entire offensive line was poor. In fact, there was quite a bit of good from the group. Of TCU’s 15 pressures (which includes the four sacks) on Isaac Wilson, only six came against offensive linemen. Despite TCU’s 51% blitz rate, Utah only allowed pressure on 36% of all dropbacks, so protection did eliminate some of the aggressiveness.
Utah’s offensive line needs to clean up mental errors– that’s the top priority. Then, the next biggest priority is communicating better across the line. Address those two issues and from there, it’s all about being the most physical dudes on the field.
RELATED: Mike Bajakian Focused On Getting Utah, Isaac Wilson Back To Winning Ways
Utah Key To Victory No. 3 – Find a complementary passing game
Utah has to find a way to establish the ground game. The Cougars have limited three opponents to under 75 yards this season, two of those three led to victories for the Cougars. This is a unit that can play good defense but more often than not this season, the defense has been overwhelmed.
In the games the Cougars gave up big rushing totals, the opponents had complementary performances throwing the ball. It doesn’t need to be prolific but has to net meaningful production- yardage, 1st downs, and touchdowns.
In their 27-7 loss to UNLV, the Rebels ran for 195 yards and only completed 7 passes but netted 113 yards, four 1st downs, and two touchdowns. Iowa State ran for 240 yards and only threw for 153 yards, 12 1st downs, and one touchdown against the Cougars. In last week’s 42-12 loss, Kansas totaled 247 yards, 11 1st downs, and three touchdowns through the air, while running for 220 yards on the Cougars.
Coach Bajakian and Isaac Wilson have to provide the rushing attack with a complementary passing game. That can be accomplished by simplifying his reads and decision-making. Utah doesn’t need a lot of production through the air but it has to capitalize when defenses aggressively try to take away the run. Doing so will help Utah establish the run game against the Cougars.
RELATED: Isaac Wilson Focused On Moving Utah Football Forward
Utah Football 2024 Season Results:
- Utes defeat Southern Utah, 49-0
- Utes defeat Baylor, 23-12
- Utes defeat Utah State, 38-21
- Utes defeat Oklahoma State, 22-19
- Utes fall to Arizona, 23-10
- Utes fall to Arizona State, 27-19
- Utes fall to TCU, 13-7
The Rest Of The Utes’ 2024 Schedule:
- Utah Football @ Houston Cougars on Saturday, October 26
- Utah Football vs. BYU Cougars on Saturday, November, 9
- Utah Football @ Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, November 16
- Utah Football vs. Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, November 23
- Utah Football @ UCF Knights on Friday, November 29
