Utah quarterback Tyler Huntley continued to shine during the Utes’ victory over Washington in Seattle, but what’s next for the Pac-12 South darlings? Remaining on the Utes’ schedule are UCLA — winner of three straight and next on deck for the Utes — Arizona and Colorado. Ute Insiders Dirk Facer and Mike Sorensen break down the Pac-12 South race and discuss College Football Playoff possibilities. They also talk Ute men’s hoops, which began in earnest Tuesday at Nevada. That and more on this week’s episode.
Dirk Facer: In this edition of the Deseret News Ute Insiders podcast, Dirk Facer and Mike Sorensen discuss the Washington game, trip to Seattle and the bye week coming up. We also talk a little basketball. That and more on the Deseret News Ute Insiders podcast.
Hey folks, welcome to another edition of the Deseret News Ute Insiders podcast. Dirk Facer and Mike Sorensen here in our swank Salt Lake City studios. Mike and I just got back from Seattle where we had a football doubleheader of sorts. We saw the Utes defeat Washington and then the next day we saw the Seahawks outlast the Buccaneers in overtime. You all footballed out, Mike?
Mike Sorensen: Oh yeah, it’s good to have a week off this week and get in some basketball. But yeah, we had a good weekend up there in Seattle.
DF: It was a lot of fun. Let’s talk about the Utah-Washington game. That was obviously a huge thing for the Utes. Very slow start, first quarter was probably as bad statistically as they’ve had all season and then in the first half they fell behind 14-3. Mike, what do you think turned that game around?
MS: Well, you know, you give a lot of credit to Tyler Huntley. Of course, his second half was fabulous. You know, that was just outstanding. I think it took them a while, the defense, to kind of figure out what was going on because our defense was giving up a lot of yards that first half. Got down 14-3 and they moved right down the field on their first couple of drives. And the offensive line in the first half, they just didn’t look very good at all. It looked like they couldn’t open holes for Moss and I think it just took a while to get warmed up. After halftime it was kind of their game after that.
DF: I think it was an intimidating atmosphere. I mean, there were a lot of people there, obviously. And it’s a loud stadium and it’s frankly, it’s a very nice stadium too. Gotta give them credit. It might be the best stadium in the Pac-12. But do you think it was an intimidating thing? Did it take Utah time to settle in because of that?
MS: Yeah, I never really thought about that. It was very loud. But it seemed to me that these guys are a senior-dominated team. You know, they just don’t seem to get too rattled. And I think that probably, you know, could have been but I just didn’t really think that was a factor. I think they just kind of had to get warmed up and kind of figure out what was going on and once they did they started rolling.
DF: You mentioned Tyler Huntley. He was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for the first time. That’s amazing. I don’t think Zack Moss has won it yet. You know, he led the Utes with 100 yards rushing and then also in five catches receiving. So maybe he’s due next. And then I think John Penisini was the Defensive Lineman of the Week. So Utah picked up a couple of awards there. Tyler Huntley, his senior year, Mike, everything seems to be falling into place. I mean, he’s playing hurt and still getting the job done. His mobility, you know, is obviously not 100% there like it was early in the season. But what do you think keeps him going? Is he just a driven guy?
MS: I don’t know. It’s hard to figure him out because his personality is kind of different. You know, we see one side of him in those postgame press conferences and he’s almost sarcastic and kind of doesn’t really want to say much. But people think he’s kind of silly, you know. But he’s obviously extremely smart because he makes great decisions as a quarterback. I mean, you know, he’s had one interception this year, he’s not throwing the ball away, and he’s deciding when to run and when not to run very well. He gets out of a lot of tackles. He’s like 80% passing, something close to 80%, if not over that, which is going to be a Utah record if he keeps it up. So yeah, you couldn’t ask much more from him this year. And that second half, you know, he had five third downs that they converted on. I mean, it was amazing.
DF: Is it Andy Ludwig too? Did he just merge with the perfect coordinator for his skill set?
MS: Yeah, Andy’s done a really good job. You know, I think in the past they’ve had some good coordinators. Troy Taylor was pretty good, but he just was kind of sketchy off and on, you know, you just kind of didn’t know from week to week. Andy seems to have just kind of a solid plan and sticks to it. And there’s not like all the sudden some crazy play or where they start passing because they get panicky. They keep running the ball, you know, so I think he is just a much more solid game plan and that’s made a big difference. And then Tyler’s, you know, has been a great quarterback for that system.
DF: And you know, it’s interesting because I hear on the radio sometimes and different people say, you know Huntley’s a game manager more than a quarterback. And I disagree because he’s effective, you know. When he’s got the mobility, he’s effective to run out of the pocket and he’s just made smart decisions.
MS: He made that 41-yard pass on third-and-12. I mean, so he comes up with big plays just besides.
DF: And he’s got an arm on him.
MS: Yeah, he does. And he’s very accurate. So he’s been a big difference for them.
DF: Mike, we’re both a couple old guys, have been around for a while. Where do you see him ranking on the list of all-time great Utah quarterbacks? We can go all the way back to Lee Grosscup if you want, but let’s say kind the comparables maybe would be an Alex Smith, Travis Wilson, Brian Johnson, that type of that era. Where do you see Tyler Huntley? Or is the script still to be written?
MS: Yeah, I think you still have to wait, you know, I mean, he’s had three good years. He’s been injured a lot. But he’s certainly ahead of Travis Wilson and Jordan Wynn, you know, who were good quarterbacks. And he’s right up there with Brian Johnson and Alex Smith, you know, and of course those guys had undefeated seasons. So you know, he’s not going to match that.
DF: Would a Rose Bowl season put him in that class?
MS: Yeah, and certainly his numbers are better than those guys, really. So he’s right up there. As long as he keeps it up. He’s got three or four or five more games.
DF: Does that surprise you coming into the season that we would be talking about Tyler Huntley being one of the great Utah quarterbacks? Because obviously he’s been very good. He’s started a lot of games and that, but he has really really blossomed as a senior.
MS: Yeah, I think it’s been a little surprising because you thought he’d be good but he’s been great. So I think he’s surprised a lot of people, including us old cynical writers, you know.
DF: All right. Well, hey, before we move on, just a reminder that we want to thank our sponsor, Mr. Mac, and all he does for us. Great company, great place to get a suit. Just a reminder, after you listen to the podcast, go to your nearest mall and gets a suit at Mr. Mac.
Hey, Mike, let’s talk about the Pac-12 driver’s seat. Utah’s suddenly in there. I think the big worry for Utah fans was maybe that USC would run the table the rest of the way and Utah could go through the season with one loss and not get to the Pac-12 Championship game. But now the tables have turned and it looks like USC has kind of quit on Clay Helton.
MS: We saw that game the other night and they got a great start. And then after that was pure downhill and they just looked terrible. I mean, 56 points, you know. We were wondering if he’d be fired before he got to the team bus. But you know, they look like they’re obviously on the downhill slide and UCLA, on the other hand, has been just unbelievably surprising this year. They were picked sixth by some people weren’t they?
DF: They were. You know, they’re not that good obviously. But mathematically, if they run the table, they win the South.
MS: Yeah. If they win all their games they will. They still have to play USC. So one of those teams is getting knocked out. I mean, you could say Utah can still win it if UCLA beats them, which is unlikely, but it’s possible. But then they play each other. So one of them will have a third loss. But UCLA, the way they’re playing, they could run the table.
DF: It’s crazy. It’s mid-November and we’re talking about UCLA still in it mathematically.
MS: Yeah. Because they looked awful in the preseason, but they’ve come up with some close victories and they looked pretty good the last few weeks.
DF: Now, what about Utah and the fact that, obviously, finally getting in the driver’s seat, that loss to USC coming so early in the season kind of put them behind the eight ball a little bit because they needed some help to win the South. It’s there now. Do you see any challenges ahead these last three games, Mike?
MS: Yeah, I think this UCLA game. I mean, if they take it at all lightly they could lose that game. I mean, you know, they shouldn’t, it’s a home game. But UCLA has beaten, they beat Washington State and they’ve beaten a lot of good teams. You know, some of them haven’t been like blowouts but they’ve scored a lot of points. They might have a better offense than some of the teams Utah’s played. The defense isn’t great. But that’ll be their toughest game. Arizona is always a worry down there. We’ve seen them lose in Tucson and spoil their season. But they gave up 56 to Oregon State, who could only score seven against Utah. And Colorado’s kind of gone in the dumpster. So you know they shouldn’t have a problem but you know, that’s the thing, Utah’s, I think we both wrote about their November schedules. You know, they’ve always lost some games in November. So we’ve got three more to go in the month. So just wait till it’s over. But the way they’ve played, if they just keep playing solid they really shouldn’t have any problem in the last three games.
DF: And then you know, there’s obviously the factor that they have everything to play for now. And you think they’d keep their eye on the prize and not overlook anybody. They’re fond of that huge cliche — they want to go 1-0 every week, you know. They claim they’re not looking too far ahead. But I think that Washington game was circled on their calendar because I have never seen coach Whittingham so happy after a game.
MS: He smiled for more than five seconds.
DF: And he admitted that it was a good win to get and the players said it was, because they obviously have had bad luck or misfortune against Washington and to finally beat those guys, and to beat him in Seattle.
MS: That was one I think a lot of us at the start of the year had it as a loss for Utah. You know, going 10 and two and that and USC being their losses. So that was one big one to get.
DF: And you know, Washington — this sounds crazy in the Pac-12, Mike, but Washington’s better than their record indicates.
MS: Oh yeah, they’ve lost four games but they shouldn’t. They lost to Cal who’s not very good.
DF: That’s unexplainable, what happened there. That was the weather delay game and weird things happened.
MS: They barely lost to Oregon and Oregon might be the best team in the league along with Utah. They lost to them in the last minute.
DF: It’s interesting how the race is going. Let’s talk reality or not. Mike, do you think Oregon or Utah, if they run the table, and obviously one of them will win the Pac-12 Championship game, do they deserve to be in the College Football Playoff?
MS: You know, it’s very possible. I don’t think it’s realistic, but it’s very possible. Because right now they’re No. 7 and 8. And I assume they’re going to be that when the rankings come out this week. And all these teams, a lot of them play each other. Alabama plays LSU, those teams people think are both going to get in. But you know if one of them loses by 50, maybe they won’t get in. And then the winner of it has to play in the championship game and if they lose that, and then you got more SEC teams losing. You know in the Big 12, or Big Ten, Ohio State and Penn State are undefeated, but they have to play each other. And then Ohio State has to play Michigan, who’s doing very well lately. So if a couple losses come in there, and those are later losses.
DF: Right, there’s some things that could fall into place.
MS: Clemson’s probably not going to lose, although they have one more tough game. I believe they have to play Wake Forest. Right?
DF: Then Bronco (And Virginia) might get them in the ACC championship game.
MS: Doubt that, but you never know. So Clemson looks pretty good. And you got those two SEC teams and the two teams from the Big Ten. And then the Big 12 is kind of out of it because Oklahoma lost. And Baylor’s undefeated but they haven’t played that great of a schedule, and they’re behind Utah and Oregon.
DF: What do you think if you took the Oklahoma loss to Kansas State and compare it to Utah’s loss to USC? Who’s in worse shape?
MS: I think that they’re pretty comparable, because the Kansas State’s not great and neither is USC. Then you can say well, Utah’s came in the middle of September, Kansas State was last week. So if you go by timing. So, you know, I think Oklahoma is going to stay behind Utah, just because of the way that it is now and if Utah keeps winning, they’ll stay ahead of them.
DF: Well, let me throw three things at you just see what your opinion is, Mike. We’ll start with BYU, Northern Illinois, Idaho State. Is that weak nonconference schedule going to come into play and ultimately cost Utah a chance to be in the College Football Playoff? The Pac-12 not being strong doesn’t help either.
MS: Northern Illinois has been terrible, and Idaho State’s awful. BYU, give them credit. They could be 7-4 in a couple weeks, you know, they should win their next three games. And they’ve looked really good the last two weeks, beating, you know, a ranked team. So that helps a little bit, helps Utah. But it seems to me at this point, Utah’s No. 8. If there’s a few losses ahead of them I think they could slip in there at No. 5 or 4, but a lot of stuff has to happen for that to happen.
DF: Do you think they need to come up with a formula that Utah needs to play a Power Five team in the preseason?
MS: Oh, definitely. It’s one of my pet peeves about Utah’s scheduling. They should play Utah State every year too, you know. Should play Utah State, BYU and a good team. You know, I know everybody has an easy team, but even if they played BYU and Utah State and an easy team.
DF: Pay some bills in the Big Sky Conference.
MS: No kidding. But it’d be nice if they could play one good team and BYU or Utah State. And then I guess one gimme.
DF: You know, I know schedules are done years in advance. We know that. But let’s just say Utah goes to the Rose Bowl this year, gets on the national stage and that, and this becomes an issue that, you know, let’s say they finished fifth in the College Football Playoff rankings. And there’s a debate about well, they play a tougher nonconference schedule. Do you think that would lead to some change and maybe they wouldn’t play a Div. I-AA (FSC) team?
MS: That’s the problem. Yeah, they get the schedules years ahead.
DF: It seems like the game they like to sacrifice every year to play somebody big is BYU.
MS: I think they should play them every year.
DF: I agree. But they always seem — when Michigan came around, let’s put BYU on hold and it’d be nice if they played both. And I just wonder if this might spark a conversation if Utah finishes, say fifth, that maybe they gotta toughen up that nonconference schedule and not play an Idaho State anymore.
MS: Another thing they could do is if the Pac-12, if the big conferences like the SEC refused to go to nine games, maybe the Pac-12 has to say we’re going to go to eight games like you guys, who play four nonconference and two patsies every year. And so that hurts the Pac-12 every year because the SEC plays one less league game. So the NCAA, someone has to fix that so is there more of an equity amongst the conferences. Because it’s not fair to play an extra league game, you know, compared to another conference.
DF: Oh, and then they always get two teams in the playoffs. All right, Mike, you just came from basketball practice. Let’s talk basketball. It tips off this week and you get to visit the biggest little city in the world.
MS: Lovely Reno. Yeah, I’m sorry you can’t go there. I know you were looking forward to that. Yeah, this is the first time — do you know how long it’s been since they started on the road?
DF: I’m gonna say a long time.
MS: Yeah, like 24 years. Like 1995. I was actually there in Kansas City. They played Kansas in one of these special games. So yeah, it’s been a long time. They play these Azusa Pacifics all the time and Southwest Baptist State and you know who’s Larry played? He’s played some winners too. This year — they played Nevada last year when they were good and they beat Utah pretty handily here in Salt Lake when they were top-10 team. This year they are not so great. They’ve lost most of their players. But it’s interesting because they’ve got Steve Alford, who has played a lot of games against Utah. He’s their head coach now and he’s only got one or two starters back. But anyway, going back to Utah, they’re going to have a very — they have the youngest, perhaps the youngest team in the whole country. There’s only three teams that have more new people than Utah. Utah has 12 new players, and three teams have more. But Utah has the most freshmen and the most true freshmen of any team in the country. So that’s very young. They’re talented, but it’s going to take a while for them to gel and get better.
DF: You know, I’ve been to a practice or two and the thing that I noticed — they seem physically to be a bigger team than they’ve been the last couple years.
MS: They’re really tall. They’re not big, they’re tall. Coach said, we got a lot of 200-pound, 205-pound guys on our team. Skinny guys, like 7-foot-4 Matt van Komen. He’s a freshman from Pleasant Grove. And then you got Branden Carlson, a 7-footer from Bingham. And you got a couple of 6-10 guys so yeah, they’re really tall.
DF: And Larry’s tall.
MS: Yeah, I guess he likes tall guys. But they’ve got a lot of young guys. They got a lot of local guys. They have like six guys from Utah. That’s gotta be a record for the last few years. Most times we only have a couple. They got this Jaxon Brenchley, who’s returned from a church mission, as did Carlson and Matt van Komen. And the coach’s son is playing on the team. He’s a walk on freshman, Luke Krystkowiak, and they got the three guys back from last year who will be the heart of the team.
DF: Timmy Allen, Both Gach and Riley Battin.
MS: You got em. That’ll be their three veterans on the team, three sophomores.
DF: Do you think Timmy Allen’s the type of guy that can take control? Is he gonna be a 20 and 10 guy?
MS: You know, Timmy, he’s one guy who’s lost 25 pounds since last year. He’s skinny down and he wants to play guard. I think he’s looking towards his future, if he’s gonna play on the next level NBA he’d be a guard and he’s 6-foot-6. He looks kind of skinny but he’s got to learn how to shoot. He’s got a really kind of funny-looking shot and he’s got a kind of learn to become a shooter.
DF: Maybe won’t be a 20-point guy.
MS: He got 12 foul shots the other night in that exhibition game, and he’s not going to get it from outside shooting. And if he’s not playing as much forward, I wonder. I think he might be more like a 15 and 7 guy because he’s not going to get as many boards with all these big guys. He’s going to be playing more wing and stuff. But he’s gonna probably be their leading scorer this year and he’s probably their team leader, you know, along with Riley Battin.
DF: Now let’s just quickly, on some of these new guys, let’s just talk about the point guard position because there’s a kid from Olympus that everyone’s heard of. Is he going to see a lot of action?
MS: He’s going to start. Yeah, Rylan Jones, he’s what, two-time Deseret News Mr. Basketball. So yeah, I just talked to him about half-hour ago and he said he feels comfortable being the starter and he said the team is going to be good and, you know, that they’ve got talent. His main attribute is being a playmaker. You know, he’s a decent shooter, but his main thing is he sees the floor well, he can direct the offense. You know, it’s kind of like, you know people who remember Jeff Jonas type, you know, from way back. And even Tommy Connor who’s assistant now. Kind of a just a really natural point guard. So Rylan Jones, right now he’s expected to start and you know, it might take them a while to get warmed up. But before long he could be a pretty good player.
DF: I mean, you think he’s one of those rare guys that’s going to come along and make an impact maybe for four years then?
MS: Yeah, I think so. I mean, Utah’s never had guys that have really started as a true freshman especially at point guard. You know, that’s kind of a rarity. So he’ll just be thrown into the fire and see how he does. I haven’t seen him play a lot, to tell you truth. Never saw a lot of high school Olympus games like our boss Kent Condon did. So anyway. But he’s only 6-foot tall. So I mean, he’s not the biggest guy in the world. But in college basketball, that’s fine.
DF: I haven’t seen him play but his father, Chris Jones, director of basketball ops, is a very proud papa and would always remind me, you seen my kid? He’s pretty good. And obviously he is.
MS: So I had to remind Rylan today that I covered his father to show how old I am, back in the day in the ’90s
DF: Did you tell him he’s a lot better than his old man was?
MS: He probably knows that already.
DF: Yeah, it was interesting that you know, at Pac-12 media day I caught up with Nico Mannion, you know Pace Mannion’s son, and he’s gonna be a freshman point guard, I guess, for Arizona.
MS: Little higher level than Utah is.
DF: It’ll be a fun matchup to see how the two freshmen do against each other.
MS: He’s like six inches taller though, right?
DF: You know, Nico isn’t as tall as I thought he was.
MS: I thought he was 6-5. He’s not?
DF: They probably say he is. But if he’s that, I’m 7-foot. I’m kidding. But he’s gonna be an impact player and they’ve got him projected as a lottery pick in the next NBA draft, Mannion. So we’ll see how Rylan matches up. But that’ll be a fun game and I guess they only meet once this year, right, in Tucson?
MS: Yeah, they don’t they don’t get to come up here. So yeah,
DF: Mike, you’re going to Nevada this week. How do you see the Utes opener?
MS: You know, I think we shouldn’t expect them to win but since Nevada is kind of down — Nevada was picked fourth in the Mountain West. So they’re a decent team. Utah’s picked eighth in the Pac-12, which is a little better conference. So I could see them maybe sneaking out with a win, Utah, but I would think that Nevada is going to probably win that game. But one thing I was gonna say, Utah has a pretty dang good schedule this year. And so if they can come out of that over .500 it’s going to be a really big accomplishment. They have to play Kentucky, Minnesota, San Diego State, BYU, Weber State. They got some tough teams and they got a tough tournament where they might only win one or two games down there in South Carolina. So I wondered why Larry has such a tough schedule, usually with a young team he kind of has a lot of patsies.
DF: There were some curveballs that made the team younger, don’t you think?
MS: Yeah, that’s part of it. But anyway, so yeah, I think they have a chance, but I’ll say this, they’re gonna win their home opener against our annual favorite, Mississippi Valley State, who is coming for the third straight year. And they’re usually ranked about 350th. So yeah, that’ll be a win later. So they should come out of the week at least with 1-1 record.
DF: Mike, that just begs of something. Now, if the Utes were to lose to Mississippi Valley State, what are you willing to do for it?
MS: If that happens it could be an 0-27 year.
DF: Could get ugly. All right, Mike, appreciate it. Just reminder, the Ute football team getting a lot of accolades this week. However, they also have a bye and won’t be in action again till next week, so Ute fans can sit in front of their TV and watch some football this week. Before we close we want to thank Mr. Mac again for being our sponsor. Want to thank Richie and Kent for their support in producing this fine program.
And just a reminder — get your friends to do this. We would love it if the Deseret News Ute Insiders podcast had more listeners than the Deseret News BYU Insiders podcast. So let’s make that happen, folks. If it happens Mike and I will sing “Utah Man” on this podcast if we get ahead of these guys. If that isn’t a good enough incentive, I don’t know what will do it folks, because we’ll do that.
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