We tell him to be smart and judicious when he runs the football, but he’s got that warrior mentality. – Kyle Whittingham
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The warning came just after Andy Phillips stroked his fourth field goal to put Utah ahead by 16 in the early fourth quarter.
“Weather reports indicate a severe storm is approaching,” said the message screen at Michigan Stadium. “It is expected to be here in 20 minutes.”
Once the downpour hit, there was a second message: “Due to inclement weather in the area, we have suspended the game ….”
Lightning surged as the rain came in cascades, causing wide pools at the field’s edge.
For Michigan, the monsoon season may just be starting. Its only wins so far are over Appalachian State and Miami of Ohio. The losses: a 31-0 debacle against Notre Dame and Saturday’s 26-10 loss to Utah. After a two hour and 25 minute lightning delay, play was resumed.
By then the Utes were as happy as ducks in water.
For them, the sky actually cleared twice. The first was after quarterback Travis Wilson landed on his face and left the game for 11 minutes, but then returned.
The best things Utah can now do is prepare for Washington State and remind Wilson again about personal safety.
Never enter a crosswalk on a green light, never run with scissors and please, oh please, don’t dive into space when it’s not absolutely necessary.
The Utes have enough worries without losing their starting quarterback. After being knocked upside down in midair, with 11:16 left in the half, he landed near the sideline and didn’t arise for a considerable time. It was later announced he needed stitches beneath his nose. He returned to play the full second half.
“That’s definitely not a smart decision,” Wilson said of his ill-fated leap. “I was just trying get extra yards in that situation and should have been smarter about that.”
Realistically, people seem a lot more worried about Wilson than he is. Nearly a year ago, he was injured in a game and missed the final three outings after it was discovered he had a pre-existing cranial injury. There was considerable worry whether he’d ever return to the field.
But he did, and on Saturday he was partying like a kid on summer break, completing seven of his first nine passes for 92 yards. That’s when clouds gathered over the Utes, as well as the stadium. On a key third-down play (aren’t they all?), he lunged and leaped, stretching for the first down.
“He got in the air like a pterodactyl,” said receiver Dres Anderson.
As trainers and medical personnel huddled, he was examined, first on the sideline, then in the locker room. A hundred thousand fans went quiet.
Shortly the word came back: his only problem was a cut up nose. Still, that’s where things become complicated. Coach Kyle Whittingham calls Wilson “as tough a kid as I’ve ever seen at the position.”
How do you tell a chef to hold the paprika?
Yet Wilson does need to pull back, not in his heart, but in his head. First downs matter, but so do quarterbacks. If he can stay healthy, the Utes now stand a decent chance to make this a bowl season.
This wasn’t Wilson’s first judgment error. He did something similar against Idaho State, when he sprinted toward the corner flag, well within diving distance. Then the instinct kicked in. He went airborne, just as someone sped beneath. Next thing he knew, he was hurtling through space like Halley’s Comet. That time he arose quickly, unshaken and untamed.
Saturday he wasn’t so lucky.
“It definitely scared me a little bit. I learned my lesson,” he said. “I’ve definitely got to be smarter with how I take hits.”
It’s better to take a slide than to take a spill.
Wilson did do that once in the fourth quarter, scrambling for 14 yards before slipping safely out of bounds. A few people in the press box let out an audible sigh of relief.
“We tell him to be smart and judicious when he runs the football,” Whittingham said. “But he’s got that warrior mentality.”
He also has some decisions to make. For instance, learning how to dial it down a notch.
After the long rain delay, the teams finished up. The Utes left town, relieved and happy, knowing that Wilson was safe, as was their perfect record. The scare was only a passing storm. The night had quieted at last.
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