Nolan Smith Picks Utah During College GameDay
Nov 11, 2023, 10:13 AM
SALT LAKE CITY – Former Georgia linebacker and current Philadelphia Eagle Nolan Smith went against the trend and picked Utah over Washington during College GameDay.
The rest of the GameDay crew picked the No. 5 Huskies, but Smith, a self-proclaimed staunch defense guy was more in favor of the No. 18 Utes and their defensive front seven.
Smith is also current teammates with former Utah receiver Britain Covey and the Eagles’ offensive coordinator is Utah all-time-great quarterback Brian Johnson.
GAMEDAY pic.twitter.com/82N1cnmTw6
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) November 11, 2023
Utah Just Can’t Play Good, The Need To Play Great Against Washington
Whittingham addressed the media in his weekly press conference noting his team can’t have another bad game like they did against Oregon two weeks ago who currently sits at No. 6 in the country just behind the Huskies.
“We’ve got a big challenge this week on the road against the No. 5 team in the country,” Whittingham said. “We’ve got to be at our best. We can’t just play good. We’ve got to be great. That’s just what it’s going to take. It’s going to take another week of great preparation and focus on our player’s part.”
Whittingham and his staff have overall done a great job managing the injuries and finding creative solutions to keep the Utes competitive while the players available to play have been marvelous at buying in and moving forward.
However, as with most things, there is often a limit to how long you can hold something together with an old shoestring and some bubble gum which is what it felt like happened against Oregon a few weeks ago.
Washington isn’t unbeatable by any means. In fact, over the past few weeks they have shown some chinks in their armor, but as Whittingham said, it will take a massive effort from Utah to pull off the upset. Certainly not impossible but will require an all-out effort top to bottom of the program.
Michelle Bodkin is the Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of both the Crimson Corner Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and The Saturday Show (Saturday from 10 a.m.–12 p.m.) on The KSL Sports Zone. Follow her on X, Instagram, and Threads: @BodkinKSLsports
