Perhaps the single most emphasized point that Kyle Whittingham drills into his players is to take care of the ball on offense.
Last Saturday, Utah didn’t do that.
Despite forcing two Texas Tech turnovers, the Utes lost the turnover margin 4-2, and teams usually don’t win too many games when they’re minus-2 in takeaways.
“Turned the ball over four times, which is really the most telling stat and you can’t play a team of that caliber, turn the ball over four times and hope to have much of a chance to win. So that was disappointing,” Whittingham said.
Utah had taken care of the ball very well through its three games against UCLA, Cal Poly and Wyoming, with just one lost fumble in total. Against Texas Tech, though, the Utes gave the ball away four times, including in some crucial moments.
The first giveaway of the day happened with 4:02 left in the first quarter. Receiver Ryan Davis caught a Devon Dampier pass and crossed into Texas Tech territory, but linebacker Ben Roberts punched the ball out. The Ute drive included what looked like a 69-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Bennee that was called back for an ineligible lineman downfield and ended with Davis’s turnover.
One series later, after Utah forced a turnover of their own — a Tao Johnson interception — Texas Tech once again punched the ball loose. This time, it was running back Wayshawn Parker crossing into Red Raider territory when he had the ball punched out by linebacker Jacob Rodriguez.
Texas Tech worked at punching the ball out during practice and it showed on Saturday.
For its part, Utah also has plenty of ball security drills, and those will be an even greater emphasis as the Utes prepare for West Virginia this week.
“We have ball security drills every day. And we also teach stripping the football on defense as a staple, one of things that we’ve worked on forever,” Whittingham said. “And so we absolutely do it. And if you say how much time do you spend on it, probably about 10 or 15 minutes exclusively, and then every drill you do, it encompasses that as well. Anytime you’re in team situations or going offense against defense, you’re working on protecting the football offensively and stripping it on defense.”
The other two turnovers came via interceptions of Devon Dampier, who had not turned the ball over this season before Saturday.
The first pick happened when Dampier pressed, trying to make a play happen. On third-and-6 from his own 20-yard line late in the second quarter, Utah’s quarterback evaded two sacks, but threw into double coverage and it was intercepted by Brice Pollock at the Texas Tech 47-yard line. Texas Tech kicked a 58-yard field goal on the ensuing drive to take a 10-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Dampier’s final interception of the day came on his last series of the game. On fourth-and-23, with the game already decided, Dampier’s pass was easily picked by Rodriquez.
As they go forward in Big 12 play, Utah will need to cut down on its turnovers.
“If you want to say what is the biggest problem, turnovers. Second biggest problem, not controlling the line of scrimmage,” Whittingham said after the game.
The defensive side of the ball was the reason why Utah kept it close with Texas Tech through three-and-a-half quarters, despite minimal offensive support, but there’s one area where the Utes need to clean things up.
Utah missed 23 tackles against Texas Tech, 12 tackles more than their previous season-high. Of course, every team is going to miss tackles every week, but Whittingham felt like Utah’s number was too high.
“We had our worst tackling day. 23 missed tackles, which for us is way too many. More than double what we should have,” Whittingham said.
One glaring example came on the opening drive of the game on third-and-10 from Texas Tech’s 15-yard line.
Quarterback Behren Morton found J’Koby Williams on a short route and Williams did the rest, rumbling for 73 yards to set up a Texas Tech touchdown. Safety Johnson had a chance to tackle him at the Texas Tech 35-yard line, but went high and couldn’t wrap him up.
Other times, Utah missed tackles on the quarterbacks and running backs. Whittingham gave credit to Texas Tech’s offensive players, while saying that the Utes will need to correct missed tackles this week.
“Tackling is something that we pride ourselves on. We work on it every week. This week will be no different. And we were very sloppy in that regard last week. Very sloppy,” Whittingham said.
Utah has its first chance to get the taste of defeat out of its mouth this Saturday and correct the turnover and tackling issues when it travels to Morgantown to play West Virginia at 1:30 p.m. MDT.
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