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Show "The most boring, but entertaining, team in the nation" • Utes find a hero n Wilson BY RYAN MILLER /ASST SPORTS PHOTO BY PRESTON ZUBAL EDITOR F or the second time in his career, Utah quarterback Travis Wilson rode a wave of MUSS members while celebrating a victory. Wilson can now add his name to the list of 2014 Utah heroes, and that list is getting long. First, it was Andy Phillips and Kendal Thompson against UCLA in the Rose Bowl. A game later, Devontae Booker finished things off for Utah against Oregon State. Now, after Wilson jaunted down the sideline and threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Kaelin Clay for the game-winning score in Utah's 24-21 win over USC, the Utah gun-slinger has joined the heroic ranks. It wasn't just the last drive that Wilson left his mark on. With the junior back under center, the Utes' left-fordead passing game was resurrected. Wilson was 18-for-32 for 194 yards and a touchdown. The numbers aren't the eyepopping totals seen around the rest of the league, but with a defense that has shown it can shut down the most potent of passers and a bruising running back in Booker, Wilson was more than adequate. For the first time in what feels like weeks, the Utes' offense moved down the field and made plays — consistently. "We weren't spectacular on offense, but we were consistent:' said head coach Kyle Whittingham. "We threw the ball a lot better ... A lot of good things in the game, but the best thing is that we are 6-1 Whittingham speaks often of consistency, and he heaped praise on Wilson after Saturday's contest for finally bringing it to the offense. The offense found it against USC, but the team has had consistency for nearly a month in one way — they have consistently been able to win. Since Utah's 28-27 lone loss of the season to Washington State, the Utes have reeled off three straight conference wins, all in similar fashion. our 2014 / Utah Utes I — the most GRIFFIN boring, but entertaining, team in college football. After an impressive victory over No. 20 USC on Saturday night, the Utes now sit at 6-1 — bowl eligible for the first time since their inaugural season in the Pac-12. And when you break it down, Utah is just a single point away from a top-10 ranking, playoff consideration and owning the driver's seat in the Pac-12. That said, the sad thing is until Saturday night, no one really knew how good this Ute squad was. Each Pac-12 game Utah has played has come down to the last drive of the game. They've won three games against conference foes, and in all of them the Utes have barely gotten by. But that's just it — they got by. And as the final seconds ticked away on the scoreboard in Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday night, it became clear that this team is, in fact, legitimate. Utah will not dazzle you with a high-powered offense, nor will it completely shut down an opposing team's offense. But what the Utes will do is play until that final whistle blows. They will V ADAMS leave everything they have out there on the field, and if they are going to lose a game, they won't go down without a fight. In a day and age where fans demand high scoring, Utah is the exact opposite of that. The Utes haven't been running a specific offense all season long but have done a great job of adapting to whatever is thrown their way. I know it's hard to believe, since the quarterback was literally carried off the field after the win over USC, but it wasn't long ago that Wilson looked incompetent on the field. He couldn't move the chains, and the team elected for backup Kendal Thompson. We all know how Thompson led these Utes to a huge victory over UCLA at the Rose Bowl, but the dual-threat quarterback didn't last long either as Wilson earned back his spot just a week later halfway through the game against Oregon State. In the week heading into this one, head coach Kyle Whittingham hinted that both signal callers would get playing time in the game against USC, but Thompson never saw the field. This has more to do with what the coaches saw in the Trojan defense than Thompson's ability or inability to run the offense, but this team has been in a scramble at this position since the start of the season. For the time being, it seems Utah has solved the quarterback issues thanks to a positive performance from T-Willy, but that can all change in this week's practice or next weekend at Arizona State. Maybe this was the "real" Utes. The experiment at quarterback was good in the sense that it got Utah to a 5-1 record before the USC game, but maybe T-Willy is meant to be the quarterback. I could see Wilson staying on the field from here on out, finishing off the season by just managing each game. That said, the same could have been said of Thompson just three short weeks ago. Despite finding out a little bit more about this football team on Saturday night, there are still a lot of questions that need to be answered. The one thing that is certain about the Utes, however, is that they are grinders and they will entertain you. From impressive outings from return man Kaelin Clay to seemingly impossible punts by Tom Hackett to Devontae Booker barreling over defenders, there will be no shortage of exciting plays from Utah. But can this team really make a run at the Pac-12 title? I'm not sure I'm ready to declare this team the best in the entire conference, but the Pac-12 better be looking out for Utah. g.adams@chronicle.utah.edu @GriffDoug Griffi- a d Rya Playoff Predictio - s Which four college teams will make the playoffs? Sometimes the offense can't move the ball, sometimes the defense gives up big passing plays and sometimes — though very rarely — the special teams unit stumbles. But in the end, the Utes have always found a hero that has won them the game. It was Wilson and the offense's turn on Saturday, and it came at the best of times. The Utes have been carried this season by a strong defense, a great special teams unit and a workhorse running back. That was not the case against the Trojans. The Utah defense couldn't get the USC quarterback Cody Kessler in the first half, and he dissected the Utes secondary for big chunks of yards. The special teams gave up a 100yard kickoff return for a touchdown after a unit member stumbled and fell on the coverage. Also, Booker fumbled at the one-yard line trying to punch it in for a score. What had been consistent for the Utes the entire season became inconsistent Saturday night. But again, Utah 8 { THECHRONY I NEWS I OPINION I ARTS I SPORTS I MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2014 } found a way and found another hero. With Utah down 21-17 on the USC 19 yard-line and the seconds ticking away, Wilson ran to the sideline, but he never went out. The Utah quarterback edged down the sideline before diving head-first for the end zone. He was deemed out at the half-yard line, but Wilson and the Utes would not be denied the game-winning score, and two plays later, Wilson hit Clay for the game winner. "The way we played and the way we had the heart to finish off the game strong shows a lot for this team and what we want to accomplish," Wilson said. Be it the heart, the will to win or something else, the Utes have had players make the plays to come out on top — consistently. "Words can't really describe how I'm feeling right now," Wilson said. "I know that bowl eligibility isn't enough for this team. This team wants to go a long ways." r.miller@chronicle.utah.edu @millerjryan Number 1 Number 2 MISSISSIPPI STATE FLORIDA STATE Number 4 Number 3 UNIVERSITY OF OREGON TEXAS CHRISTIAN 9 |