Utes coach took blame for execution during a bad night in the desert
In the Arizona desert on a fateful Friday night, the Utah Utes, ranked No. 16, saw their season take a painful turn in aafter suffering a lower leg injury early on. With College Football Playoff dreams and Big 12 title hopes slipping away, the Utes left the field in a somber state—heads down, tears flowing, and the weight of expectations crushed by a surging Sun Devils team.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham was candid after the game about Rising's condition, acknowledging the quarterback was not at full strength. "You can see the rust," Whittingham said, pointing to the impact of Rising’s leg injury and the glove he was forced to wear to improve his grip on the ball. Despite Rising’s limitations, the senior quarterback insisted on staying in the game, unwilling to yield to freshman backup Isaac Wilson.
Rising's resilience, however, was not enough to overcome the Utes’ broader struggles. Their defense, once a hallmark of Whittingham’s teams, appeared disorganized and undisciplined. Arizona State running back Cam Skattebo exploited missed tackles and blown assignments, rushing for 158 yards and two critical touchdowns.
The offense fared no better, particularly in the red zone. Whittingham took full responsibility for the team’s failure to capitalize on scoring opportunities, admitting, "Blame me. I’ll take all the blame for the red zone." It was a familiar refrain, as Utah’s offensive inefficiency had been an issue in their previous losses as well.
“That back is as good as any back that we faced fighting those gaps,” Whittingham said. “We had guys out. The guys that are in there though have got to get the job done. The majority of those runs that popped were on zone pressures. Not all of them, but the majority of them we either lost the edge or lost an interior gap by getting cut off.”, the future remains uncertain.
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