Not once in his 15 years as Utah football’s head man has Kyle Whittingham coached a team that passed more than it ran the ball in a given season.

For that matter neither did Urban Meyer in his two years as Ute coach or Ron McBride for most of his 13 years as coach. In fact, it’s been 30 years since a Utah team has passed the ball more than it has run over the course of a season.

How long has it been since BYU and Utah State passed the ball more than they ran it? Well, you only have to go back a year as both did it in 2019. In fact, over the past 30 years, BYU has passed the ball more in 16 seasons and run the ball more in 14 seasons.

But Utah’s style has been a run-first offense, not only for the last 30 years, but for most of its history. The one exception was the five-year period of the late 1980s when the Utes were a passing team every year under coach Jim Fassel.

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With the Utes losing all-time leading rusher Zack Moss to graduation and sporting one of their best receiving corps in many years this season, could the U. turn into Pass U. this season?

Perhaps.

When asked point-blank earlier this week if the Utes might become a passing team this year, Whittingham wouldn’t say yes, but left it out there as a possibility. 

“We’re going to do what we do best and we’re still trying to determine what we do best with this new crew. We leaned on Zack Moss with a fairly heavy dose of run over the last few years. But it may change this year and we may throw the ball more, which is fine. There’s more than one way to get things done.” — Kyle Whittingham

“It’s certainly possible,” Whittingham said. “We’re going to do what we do best and we’re still trying to determine what we do best with this new crew. We leaned on Zack Moss with a fairly heavy dose of run over the last few years. But it may change this year and we may throw the ball more, which is fine. There’s more than one way to get things done.”

Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig was more bullish on the idea of Utah going to the air more when he recently spoke with the media.

“Every year is different — we take a lot of pride in our ability to adapt and adjust our personnel within the scheme,” he said. “That will always start with the quarterback position, but there’s no doubt with the depth and talent at the wide receiver and tight end position, is going to warrant the ball being in the air more than it was a year ago.”

Ludwig has been the offensive coordinator for five seasons under Whittingham, from 2005 to 2008 before rejoining the Utes last year. 

By the numbers


Percentage of run plays vs. pass plays under last six coaches 


                                                Run / Pass


Kyle Whittingham (2005-19)   57.2 / 42.8


Urban Meyer (2003-04)          61.3 / 38.7


Ron McBride (1990-2002)      55.2 / 44.8


Jim Fassel (1985-89)              42.5 / 57.5


Chuck Stobart (1982-84)        69.5 / 30.5


Wayne Howard (1977-81)       67.6 / 32.4


In his first stint, Ludwig’s teams passed the ball more than typical Whittingham teams, 45.3% of the time compared to the average of 42.3% over Whittingham’s 15-year career.

However, last year the Utes rode Moss’ back all season and their percentage of passing plays was the lowest of the Whittingham Era at just 35.2%.

So when was the last time the Utes threw the ball more during the season than ran the ball?

Surprisingly it last happened in McBride’s first season, 1990, when the Utes, behind quarterbacks Mike Richmond and Jason Woods, passed the ball 398 times versus 394 rushes, nearly a 50-50 split. The Utes had nearly three times as many yards through the air that year, with 2,757 yards to just 931 on the ground.

It was probably a holdover from the Fassel Era, the last and perhaps only time the Utes were known for their passing.  

Utah quarterback Scott Mitchell led the Utes to a surprisingly lopsided victory over the BYU Cougars in 1988.
Utah quarterback Scott Mitchell, shown here dropping back to pass, led the Utes to a surprisingly lopsided victory over the Cougars in 1988. | Utah Athletics

Fassel’s teams in the late 1980s passed way more than they ran the ball — 57.5% of the time with a high of 61.4% in Scott Mitchell’s junior (and final) season in 1989. 

McBride’s teams were the second-most “passingest” teams with a 44.8% passing ratio, just ahead of Whittingham’s 42.8%. Some folks might be surprised that Meyer’s “spread” offense only passed the ball 38.7% of the time, but remember how much it utilized quarterback Alex Smith as a runner.

The two coaches before Fassel, Chuck Stobart and Wayne Howard, both ran the ball twice as much as they passed it, but that was the style back then when BYU was one of the few teams in the country throwing the ball more than running it.

But what about 1957 when the Utes were known nationally for their passing game behind All-American Lee Grosscup and top receiver Stu Vaughan?

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Sorry, as much as it must have seemed to old-timers that the ball was always in the air, the Utes had nearly twice as many running plays that season with 410 compared to 218 passes.

So with Moss graduated and off to the NFL and little experience, the Utes are looking at five backs during October camp with Devin Brumfield and Jordan Wilmore having the inside track.

The question will be how well the quarterback, most likely Jake Bentley or Cameron Rising, will be able to get the ball to one of the most talented stable of receivers in school history, led by Britain Covey. 

For the first time in three decades, the Utes may actually become known for their passing.

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