Kyle Whittingham will go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the University of Utah and one of the two greatest ever to coach at an in-state school. His resume includes Pac-12 championships, Rose Bowls, a Sugar Bowl win, unbeaten seasons, 166 victories and No. 2 and No. 4 national rankings. The Utes will probably name the football field after him, or should.
There’s just one thing the Utes have struggled with during the Whittingham era.
Offense.
It has been the thorn in his side. The Michael Jordan to his Utah Jazz. His teams have won with field position, defense, toughness, special teams, ball control — all the old-school stuff — and offense has been no more than a bothersome, but necessary, side adventure. The great offensive renaissance of the past 20 years passed by the Utes.
They’ve managed to win despite such shortcomings, at least until this season, when suddenly everything has unraveled. After 10 consecutive winning seasons — six of which ended with a national ranking — they have lost five in a row, their longest losing streak since 2013, and are staring at a sub-.500 season. Somehow the victory parade has come to a stop. Picked to finish first in the Big 12, they are 15th (next to last). It seems like a long time ago that the Utes were ranked No. 12 in the preseason rankings.