I just got to play better bottom line. I have full confidence in my o-line no matter what. – Utah quarterback Troy Williams
SALT LAKE CITY – Something about the red zone continues to stymie the Utah offense.
The Utes' performance in the most critical 20 yards on the field can be summed up with the four plays that led to a 30-yard field goal from Matt Gay in their 23-20 loss to Stanford Saturday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
A pass interference call on third-and-12 at the Stanford 16-yard line gave the Utes the ball on the 2-yard line with four downs. Zack Moss, who had an otherwise productive night with 80 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown, rushed for 1 yard and then minus-1 on first and second downs, respectively.
On third-and-goal — still at the 2-yard line — quarterback Troy Williams was sacked for a loss of 11 yards. That led to Gay’s field goal, and instead of tying or taking the lead, the Utes continued to trail 16-13.
“We just didn’t execute,” said wide receiver Raelon Singleton, who finished with 62 yards and three catches. “We can’t blame anything on the coaches or the play-calling. We just gotta execute.”
Williams’ assessment was centered on his performance.
“I just gotta play better,” he said. “I just got to play better bottom line. I have full confidence in my o-line no matter what.”
Visibly disappointed, he said he’d just continue to try and improve his game.
“I know probably everybody hates me right now, but that’s part of the game. So, I just got to play better," he said. "You just have to take it on the chin, that’s all I can really say. Sometimes it doesn’t really go your way, and that’s what happened for me tonight. It just didn’t go my way. I just have to come back stronger next week, if I am in there.”
Moss suggested the solutions may come from practice, while acknowledging the issues are ongoing.
“We just got to be better,” Moss said. “I’m not really going to put it on anything, just put it on us, really. Just got to be better in that time because we do have a history of not making touchdowns down there. We got to get back into practice and get it right.”
The one upside is that Utah's defense created similar issues for Stanford's offense, forcing the Cardinal to settle for field-goal attempts four times, three of which it made.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said the positives in Saturday’s game were no consolation to a team that had a chance to win until the final minutes, despite two interceptions, missed tackles on a 68-yard touchdown run by Stanford running back Bryce Love and special teams issues with snapping the ball that caused numerous problems.