We reached out to Utah football analyst Matt Nigbur of the No Truck Stops Pac-12 podcast.
We asked Nigbur, “How surprised are you and other Utah analysts that Rising hasn’t made the grade?”
Nigbur responded:
“What, doesn’t everyone expect their QB to be the Heisman trophy winner? I’m told these expectations are totally normal among college football blue bloods, of which Utah is certainly one. I think the surprise/confusion is less in Rising and more in the play calling at the moment. This type of QB play and lack of downfield passing seems to be treated as a feature rather than a bug, and the opposite of all of the talking points coming out of camp.”
It will certainly be a point of interest on Saturday against USC: Will Utah, which has struggled to find explosive plays, be able to hit deep shots over the top of the USC secondary, or will that deficiency remain firmly in place for the Utes against Alex Grinch and the Trojans’ defense, which have shut down deep balls this season?
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