Pacific Takes - Utah football: Kyle Whittingham, Utes make little headwayWhere The West Coast Is The Best Coasthttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52598/pt_fav.png2014-03-25T09:00:03-07:00http://www.pacifictakes.com/rss/stream/44424312014-03-25T09:00:03-07:002014-03-25T09:00:03-07:00Utah football schedule 2014
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<figcaption>Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p><a href="http://www.blocku.com">Go to Block U</a> to learn more about Utes football.</p> <p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph0"><strong>Pac-12 future schedules</strong></p>
<p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/arizona-wildcats-football-future-schedules">Arizona</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/arizona-state-sun-devils-football-future-schedules">ASU</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/california-golden-bears-football-future-schedules">Cal</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/colorado-football-future-schedules">Colorado</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/oregon-football-future-schedules">Oregon</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/oregon-state-football-future-schedules">Oregon State</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/stanford-football-future-schedules">Stanford</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/ucla-football-future-schedules">UCLA</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/usc-football-future-schedules">USC</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/utah-football-future-schedules">Utah</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/washington-football-future-schedules">Washington</a> | <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/pages/wsu-football-future-schedules">Washington State</a></p>
<p>There will be no BYU on the schedule this year for Utah, which is strange to really think about after seeing this battle go on year after year. But don't worry, Utah makes up for this with a huge trip to the Big House to take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/teams/michigan-wolverines">Michigan Wolverines</a>. If Kyle Whittingham is looking for a signature win to keep the wheels from falling off in Salt Lake City, this would be the one.</p>
<p>Utah is just stuck in a tough place that requires them to win early and often, because get a load of this stretch from the end of October on: USC, Oregon and Arizona at home along with Arizona State and Stanford on the road. Utah will have a shot to return to respectability this year, but it won't be easy.</p>
<p>Here's your schedule.</p>
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<li>August 28 (Thu.): Idaho State</li>
<li>September 6: Fresno State</li>
<li>September 13: BYE</li>
<li>September 20: at Michigan</li>
<li>September 27: Washington State</li>
<li>October 4: at UCLA</li>
<li>October 11: BYE</li>
<li>October 16 (Thu.): at Oregon State</li>
<li>October 25: USC</li>
<li>November 1: at Arizona State</li>
<li>November 8: Oregon</li>
<li>November 15: at Stanford</li>
<li>November 22: Arizona</li>
<li>November 29: at Colorado</li>
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https://www.pacifictakes.com/2014/3/25/5314546/utah-utes-football-schedule-2014Avinash Kunnath2014-02-25T16:00:58-08:002014-02-25T16:00:58-08:00Utah gets Travis Wilson back for spring football
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<figcaption>Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>It was recently announced that Wilson will be able to return to football after a head injury sidelined him in 2013.</p> <p>Epic news just came down the pipeline for Utah, kicking off spring football on an incredibly positive note, as junior quarterback Travis Wilson has been cleared to continue playing football, starting this spring. Wilson was lost for the season with a head injury that revealed a pre-existing condition last November that knocked him out for the rest of the season and put his future in football in serious question.</p>
<p>With Wilson confirmed to be in the fold for the Utes, the biggest task for the program this spring will be adjusted him back to football and taking his game to the next level after he had started to struggle during Pac-12 play in 2013. Wilson has shown flashes of just how good he could be in his first two seasons in Salt Lake City, but if he can become more accurate and consistent, he could take the Utes from just on the cusp of bowl eligibility to contender in the South, and should be their biggest focus on offense in the spring.</p>
<p>Wilson came out of the gate strong in 2013, throwing for nine touchdowns to just three interceptions while also running for more than 250 yards and five touchdowns as he had the Utes competing for a bowl game, but his accuracy and consistently really tapered off as he got into the heart of their Pac-12 schedule.</p>
<p>In these games, Wilson was putting up a lot of yards and some touchdowns, but was throwing the ball around a little too carelessly and throwing too many interceptions that really hurt the Utes. Outside of the Utes' upset of Stanford, Wilson actually struggled in Pac-12 play with his completion percentage around 40 percent, and only seven touchdowns to 15 interceptions. It is going to be very hard for the Utes to take that next step as a program if Wilson can't improve these numbers in Pac-12 play so his accuracy and ability to throw the ball away when under pressure or when a play is not there will need to be improved this spring.</p>
<p>The ideal performance for Wilson to study will be the aforementioned over Stanford in a game where he excelled against one of the nation's best defensive units. In their October upset of the Cardinal, Wilson was poised and went 23-34 for 234 yards and two touchdowns with just one interception. If Wilson can bounce back from the injury scare and polish his poise to the level of that he flashed against the Cardinal along with continue to be a deceptively dangerous runner, the Utes could be much better than expected in 2014.</p>
<p>One thing that will be very interesting to keep an eye on this spring, if Wilson doesn't show the clear cut ability to do this is the development of junior <span>Adam Schulz</span>, who filled in for Wilson when he was injured in 2013. Schulz wasn't phenomenal as a starter, but his numbers weren't that far off of Wilson's, and he has the potential to turn it into a competition this spring.</p>
https://www.pacifictakes.com/2014/2/25/5447620/utah-spring-football-return-of-travis-wilson-could-be-catalyst-forJack Follman2014-01-02T04:01:40-08:002014-01-02T04:01:40-08:00Utah 20, BYU 13: 6th best Pac-12 OOC win
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<p>Earlier posts: <a href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/2014/1/2/5265504/colorado-buffaloes-csu-rams-2013-video-highlights">#10 -- Colorado 41, Colorado State 27</a>, <a href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/2014/1/2/5265518/utah-utes-usu-aggies-2013-video-highlights">#9 -- Utah 30, Utah State 26</a>, #8 -- USC 17, Utah State 14, <a href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/2014/1/2/5265556/usc-trojans-boston-college-eagles-2013-video-highlights">#7 -- USC 35, Boston College 7</a>.</p> <p>The Utah Utes have struggled as of late, but that hasn't stopped Kyle Whittingham from besting Bronco Mendenhall in Holy War games. Utah has won the last four and five of the last six against BYU in their annual matchup, and Utah kept the dominance going in their 2013 matchup.</p>
<p>This has added importance because the Utah-BYU rivalry will be going away. Due to the intense demands of Utah's Pac-12 schedule, the Utes have pretty much told the Cougars that their rivalry game puts a huge dent on the team's schedule flexibility. So Utah and BYU will have to put their grudge aside for the time being until a more feasible settlement can be made.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.blocku.com/2013/9/22/4760738/utes-enter-hiatus-controlling-holy-war-series">See more from Block U about the importance of the Holy War</a> and where it will be going for the near future.</p>
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<blockquote> <p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph2">Utah football has taken control of the Holy War and hopefully there is no looking back. There shouldn't be any looking back because, for the first time since the 1960s, the Utes football program is head and shoulders better than their rivals to the south.</p> <p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph3">A few years ago, a statement like that could have been challenged. But I think Saturday night definitively proved how wide the gap is becoming between Provo and Salt Lake City. The Cougars, for all their grit and determination, just can't stack up, head-to-head or otherwise, with Utah. They're a good non-BCS team, and occasionally might field a better team, but on the whole, the contrast between both programs is astonishingly stark - the Utes are <em>finally</em> looking like a BCS team and BYU, regardless of their win over Texas, has firmly established itself among the lot of fairly average mid-major programs.</p> <p class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph4">While I don't think Utah has fully outgrown the rivalry, and it's still an amazing game with an immense amount of atmosphere, both programs are heading in different directions and that will only continue until the Cougars somehow wrestle themselves a Big 12 invite. That's not likely.</p> </blockquote>
https://www.pacifictakes.com/2014/1/2/5265560/holy-war-utah-utes-byu-cougars-2013-video-highlightsAvinash Kunnath2013-10-19T13:25:01-07:002013-10-19T13:25:01-07:00Utah looks to catapult into second half of 2013
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<p>It starts with a battle in Arizona. We chat with <a href="https://twitter.com/blocku" target="new">Sean Reynolds</a> of <a href="http://www.blocku.com" target="new">Block U</a> to learn more about the Utes.</p> <p><b>1. What were the biggest reasons Utah was able to upset Stanford? What were the biggest positives to take away from that contest?</b></p>
<p>I think Utah is a good team and when you're a good team, you generally stand a good chance of winning a game like this. Let's not pretend this was a fluke - the Utes have proven, even in defeats, they're capable of going toe-to-toe with most programs ... especially at home. I think the biggest positive is the fact Utah finally won a legitimate Pac-12 game. Prior to their win over Stanford, the Utes' best win was against a so-so UCLA team in 2011 that ended up firing their head coach. Stanford now becomes the biggest win the program has seen since the Sugar Bowl in 2009 and establishes their position as a rising threat in the conference. It took two and a half seasons, but I think it shows Utah has finally arrived.</p>
<p><b>2. Utah has been looking for a signature win since joining the Pac-12 and they now have it. How confident are you in the leadership of Kyle Whittingham?</b></p>
<div>I've always been confident (well, not always - I did question his leadership back in 2007). This only solidifies my belief that he's one of the country's best coaches. I guess my biggest concern was that he somehow would stagnate at Utah, especially if he couldn't grab a season-defining win. Well...</div>
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<div><b>3. Midterm time: Grade your players! How is each unit performing based on your level of expectation coming into the season?</b></div>
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<div>The offense gets an A. They were abysmal the past two seasons and their turnaround has been nothing short of remarkable. The defense, which looked like a solid C at best after the first couple weeks, has really turned it around as of late - defending well in their last three games. I'll give them a B-, but I believe they will only continue to improve. Finally, special teams are a mixed bag. Andy Phillips is one of the best kickers in the country, but Utah's kickoff coverage is extremely suspect and that brings down the grade a bit ... which I'd put at a B- too.</div>
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<div><b>4. Midterm time: Grade your coaches! How are the position coaches all performing based on your level of expectation coming into the season? </b></div>
<p><br>Kyle Whittingham gets a B, Dennis Erickson a A- and Kalani Sitake a B- (I'm not going to go and grade every position coach, so, don't ask me to!). As for their performance, Erickson is doing better than expected and Sitake, even though he had some early question marks, seems to be about where I thought he would be.</p>
<p><b>5. Utah ramps it down a notch as they get ready to battle Arizona. What are you looking for from the Utes this weekend in terms of overall improvement?</b></p>
<p>I just want a win. I don't care if it's ugly or not - just win.</p>
https://www.pacifictakes.com/2013/10/19/4856156/utah-utes-football-2013Avinash Kunnath2013-10-03T07:30:07-07:002013-10-03T07:30:07-07:00Utah Looks to "Muss Up" UCLA on Thursday Night
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<p>UCLA and Utah boast two of the best offenses in the nation and they will face off tonight in a cold and rainy Rice-Eccles Stadium. There are plenty of questions to be answered: Can Utah slow down Brett Hundley and the UCLA attack? Can the Bruins overcome their recent struggles in the state of Utah? We'll take a look at how Utah can pull off the upset, and how UCLA can start its march to the Pac-12 championship game.</p> <p>Let's face it, the Pac-12 South champion will have its work cut out for it in the Pac-12 championship game. We've already seen the North take care of business against the South in the early weeks of conference play, but one team has yet to start its Pac-12 schedule, and that is UCLA. The Bruins are probably the South's best shot at winning the Pac-12 championship game and after a picture perfect 3-0 start to the season, the Bruins will start their quest to reach their third consecutive conference title game tonight as they travel to Salt Lake City to take on Utah.</p>
<p><b>By the Numbers</b></p>
<p><span>At first glance, this game looks like a fairly obvious mismatch. UCLA's offense appears to be one of the most high flying units in the country, and their defense has been dominant when playing at its best. Utah, on the other hand, appears to have a good offense and a decent-to-mediocre defense. If we take a closer look at things statistically, this game might be one of the best potential shootouts the nation will get to see this season. Utah and UCLA are neck and neck in the yards per play statistic (7.37 and 7.26 respectively, good for the seventh and eighth ranked offenses nationally). Until UCLA faces Oregon (8.27 YPP, third in the nation) later in the month, there isn't a better opportunity to see two more explosive offenses on the same field anywhere. As per the usual in games featuring high octane offenses, the game will boil down to which defense will be able to force the most mistakes against two very fluid offensive systems.</span></p>
<p>Utah's run defense has been pretty impressive considering where it was expected to be after losing <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/114734/star-lotulelei">Star Lotulelei</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/114735/joe-kruger">Joe Kruger</a> from the defensive front.<span> In fact, Utah's run defense could technically be considered the conference's stingiest with a bit of statistical maneuvering. While Utah has allowed over 100 yards on the ground per game, they have limited opponents to just three yards per carry, good for best in the conference. That means that Utah has done a good job of limiting yards after contact and avoiding the demoralizing 25+ yard runs.</span></p>
<p><span>With such an effective run defense, its almost </span>surprising<span> to see Utah's defense right in the middle of the pack nationally with a 50th ranked defense at 5.16 yards allowed per play. That has to indicate that something must be up with Utah's pass defense.</span></p>
<p><span>Utah has had some mixed results against the pass. Against BYU a week ago, the Utes held their rivals down through the air, allowing the Cougars to complete just 18 of 48 passes. Part of that was lent to </span>surprisingly<span> solid defense from the Utes, and another part of that performance was lent to BYU being a bad passing team (ranked 105th in the country in passing yards per game). When Utah actually faced a good passing team in Oregon State a week before, <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/113717/sean-mannion">Sean Mannion</a> put up over 400 yards on the Utes. Chuckie Keeton of Utah State was also able to post 300+ yards against the Utes in week one, and UCLA will try to do the same to secure a victory tonight.</span></p>
<p><b>Getting to Hundley</b></p>
<p><span> To stop UCLA's passing game, the Utes will need to man up against UCLA's wide receivers, and find a way to get pressure on <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/players/38230/brett-hundley">Brett Hundley</a>. The Utah defensive front has already tallied 15 sacks on the season, but that number is a bit inflated thanks to seven sacks earned in their blowout of Weber State. Still though, Utah has the best defensive front UCLA has faced this season, and they will be dialing up pressure and mixed coverages all night to get to Hundley.</span></p>
<p>Applying pressure on Hundley is not as easy as it was last season. <span> </span><span>So far this season, the Bruin offensive line has allowed just five sacks for only nine total yards lost (1.8 yards lost per sack).</span><span> That statistic is attributed to </span><span>Hundley's improved awareness in the pocket, his knowledge of when to throw the ball away, and his vision to find running lanes against aggressive pass rushes. </span><span>Nebraska had a bit of success early in the game when the </span><a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;" href="http://www.pacifictakes.com/2013/9/17/4737050/ucla-bruins-turn-the-tides-in-lincoln" target="_blank">Husker defense switched up coverages against Hundley</a><span> and forced</span><span> an easy interception off of a miscommunicated route. Taking that into account, </span><span>Utah's best bet at stopping the UCLA passing game will be in mixing up zone and man coverages and surprising Hundley with zone blitzes in unexpected spots.</span></p>
<p>UCLA's defense, on the other hand, still has a few questions to be answered. That's mostly because they haven't gotten a real taste of the pass-happy Pac-12 offenses their young secondary will have to face for the rest of the season. Utah has some speedy receivers, and as showcased in the touchdown catch below, UCLA's green cornerbacks will have their biggest test to date against the Utes:</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/assets/3330945/Utah_Crossing_Route.gif" target="_blank"><img alt="Utah_crossing_route_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn2.sbnation.com/assets/3330945/Utah_Crossing_Route_medium.gif"></a></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Utah's offensive coordinator Dennis Erickson, one of the leaders in the single-back offense's development, has been pulling pieces from other Pac-12 offenses together to make an interesting offensive scheme. The Utes will be using a very similar scheme to UCLA's, simply because <a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/college/football/la-sp-1001-ucla-football-20131001,0,6873097.story#axzz2gdRgg25l">Noel Mazzone's offense is derived from Erickson's</a>. Mazzone mentioned that he learned most of his scheme while the two were together at ASU a few years ago and at Oregon State earlier in their careers. Erickson will do everything possible to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers and will try to simplify all reads for his quarterback Travis Wilson. The use of key motions will help Wilson read the aggressive UCLA defense and help the Utes spread the field quickly.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">As shown in the GIF above, Utah will use crossing routes off of play action to try and catch UCLA being over-aggressive. If the Utes can find a way to move the ball on the ground against the UCLA front-seven, the Bruins will be forced to use more man coverage looks, giving more opportunities to the Utah playmakers out wide.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">The Bruins will need to use their strengths to constrain the Utah offense. Speed and size are some of its biggest advantages, and getting to Wilson early and often will be the key for the UCLA defense to mask its deficiencies in pass defense. Utah did a good job limiting sure-fire NFL prospect Kyle Van Noy's impact in the BYU game and will need to do the same with the now #1 draft prospect Anthony Barr. Hopefully some of his supporting cast will take advantage of the attention that the Utes will be giving to Barr.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">This game is far from a mismatch- UCLA will have its hands full against Utah on a Thursday night game in the "Muss." With wet conditions in store for the two spread offenses we probably won't be seeing crazy numbers on the scoreboard, but again, this game will boil down to which team's defense forces the most mistakes. Predicting the winner is not an easy call. Obviously logic points to UCLA having an edge thanks to their overall advantages in speed, talent, size, scheme, and momentum. However, UCLA hasn't even had an inkling of success in the state of Utah over their past visits to the Beehive State, and I think Utah's defense will force Brett Hundley into some tough spots throughout the game.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">I think Utah will jump out to an early lead and UCLA will look bad in its few possessions. The Bruins will adjust in the second half and the game comes down to the wire.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span>UCLA escapes with a win 38-31.</span></p>
https://www.pacifictakes.com/2013/10/3/4797298/utah-football-muss-ucla-perfect-start-thursday-night-contestJosh Schlichter2013-08-30T00:11:56-07:002013-08-30T00:11:56-07:00Utah gets the Pac-12 off on the right foot
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<p>College football is a bizarre game.</p> <p>There are the times you can be totally outplayed for the majority of the game by a quarterback who looked totally unstoppable, then eek out a win regardless.</p>
<p>It looked like another nightmare season was in the making for Utah. Utah State went right back to the formula that worked last year, spread out the Utes, and battered them to death. Utah State lost most of their offensive weapons, but they didn't lose Chuckie Keeton, and he was the maestro for most of the game. Keeton completed over three-fourths of his passes and broke more tackles than his running back probably did.</p>
<p>Travis Wilson did just enough. With Utah's offense slogging through mud for most of the third quarter. Wilson aired it out, and he showed that his physical ability can be just enough to manage an offense. The tight end who happens to be a quarterback launched that football up in the air for passes of 51, 30, 35, 56, 22, 26 yards. Those big plays led to the five Utah scores that put the Utes ahead, negating the efficient precision of the Aggie spread and shred.</p>
<p>Despite Wilson's success, they needed a lot of help from Utah State. The Aggies committed two 15-yard penalties to keep their early drives alive. Utah State turned the burners off in the third quarter and left the door open for the Utes to get going. And Utah created their own luck with an incredibly well-placed onside kick.</p>
<p>Utah is far from a complete team. For a twenty-five minute stretch during the second and third quarters, the Utes showed almost no signs of life on either the offensive (six possessions of nothing) or defensive (would you like to be Chuckie Football, Mr. Keeton, why yes you would!) sides of the field.</p>
<p>But Utah would probably rather have the win right now and fix everything else over the next week and a half, and accept bizarre wins rather than deserved losses.</p>
<p>Welcome back college football. We've missed you.</p>
https://www.pacifictakes.com/2013/8/30/4674658/utah-30-utah-state-26-chuckie-keeton-the-better-player-travis-wilsonAvinash Kunnath2013-08-28T06:00:04-07:002013-08-28T06:00:04-07:00Utah State Goes For Two Straight Over Utah
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<p>A lot of pride will be on the line in the opening Pac-12 game of the 2013 season.</p> <p></p>
<p><b>Utah State at Utah - Thursday, August 29 5 p.m. p.t./6 p.m. m.t. Fox Sports One</b></p>
<p><b>The story of the game -</b><i>Can the Aggies win two in a row over the Utes without Gary Andersen?</i></p>
<p>The Utes have dominated the series since the early 70s, but an Aggie win in 2012, paired with an 11-win season compared to Utah's disappointing five-win campaign points to a potential swing in momentum. Thrown in that Utah State is expected to compete for the Mountain West title their first year in the conference, and most think Utah has no chance to compete in the Pac-12 South, and things definitely could be changing in Utah. It won't be easy to do it, especially without former coach Gary Andersen (Now at Wisconsin), but the Aggies could push the Utes further into the mud, and get their highly-anticipated season off to a dream start.</p>
<p><b>What's at stake for Utah?</b></p>
<p><b>Pride -</b> Two-straight losses to the Aggies has to be a nightmare for the Utes and their fans, who have long been used to routing their little brother from Logan.</p>
<p><b>A much-needed win - </b>With a Pac-12 schedule that has only one or two games that they should be expected to win, and a non-conference schedule that also features a game at a strong BYU team, the Utes cannot afford to lose a home game against an evenly matched rival like the Aggies.</p>
<p><b>What's at stake for the Pac-12?</b></p>
<p>Oregon and Stanford have done a lot in recent seasons to prove that the top of the Pac-12 is as strong as any other conference in the nation, but I think some might suspect that the middle, and bottom of the conference isn't any better than the Mountain West. A Utah win over what is expected to be one of the Mountain West's best teams in 2013 would go a long ways to dispel that thinking.</p>
<p><b>Pac-12 Enemies (Utah State players to watch)</b></p>
<p><b>QB Chuckie Keeton</b></p>
<p>Athletic, versatile and tough, Keeton has started for the Aggies since he was a freshman and has been a big part of their renaissance. Keeton threw for more than 3,300 yards and ran for more than 600 in 2013 while also tossing 27 touchdowns, and running for 8. He's the heart and soul of the Aggies, and one of the best quarterbacks in the QB-loaded Mountain West.</p>
<p><b>DE Connor Williams</b></p>
<p>The Aggies' best pass rusher, Williams had six sacks in 2012 and is a heavy defensive end at 280 pounds that could make things very difficult for Utah quarterback Travis Wilson if the Utes' offensive line can't contain him.</p>
<p><b>Pac-12 players on the spot</b></p>
<p><b>QB Travis Wilson</b></p>
<p>The time for freshman excuses are over. Wilson has almost an entire season, and an entire off-season, under his belt as a starter now. He has to step up from game one and make defenses fear him when he has the ball in his hands or the Utah offense will be remain stagnant.</p>
<p><b>Why watch?</b></p>
<p>It's the first Pac-12 game of the season and it's a rivalry game between two evenly matched teams.</p>
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https://www.pacifictakes.com/2013/8/28/4658460/utah-state-at-utah-preview-aggies-going-for-two-straight-againstJack Follman