[OldAsDirtUte]

aand, several times in game 7.

[RedRocks]

Hopefully game one.

[diddlysquat]

Does the OC truly matter when Whittingham is the coach? The OC has never had and never will have the 100% green light with Whittingham as the coach. My hope is that Whittingham allow a more aggressive approach offensively this year.

[Jim Vanderhoof]

Normally I would agree with you. I really think last year opened Whitts eyes to the flaws in his offensive approach. Too complicated on offense for new transfer players and freshman. Same with the defense. The new offense is much easier to learn and lots of high schools run similar sets. Just spreading the field will open up some big plays and Whitt will be smiling ear to ear.(hopefully)

[diddlysquat]

I hope the same. Truly. I hope Whittingham goes guns out, if this is his last year. But 20+ years of a conservative, defense-first mentality has me skeptical. That isn’t meant to be negative, as that approach can work obviously, I just don’t think the zebra will change its stripes.

[RedRocks]

CFP Expansion

You had me going there for a moment; I thought there was some sort of new development in the conference carousel.

[chinngiskhaan]

I haven’t made any predictions about this year’s offense. I have no idea what will happen.

As for your question about Whitt firing Ludwig, I’ve heard on Utehub that he was let go because his offense was too intricate to teach in today’s transfer-happy/NIL era. Ludwig was also likely responsible for relying exclusively on the health of Rising the last couple of years. Whitt was obviously very frustrated with that whole situation, and I would bet it was Ludwig’s idea to stick with Rising the last two years (no inside info, just gathering from context). The lack of a viable backup, which was Ludwig’s responsibility, is also a major reason he was likely let go.

As to your next question about the team being good because of the player or the coach, I’d say it has to be both. Whitt is a good enough coach that we will never be a bad team under him. Even when we were playing with half a team the last two years we were competitive. Whitt’s consistency plus some NFL level talent on offense means we will be very good.

Personally, I think this fanbase’s recent criticism of Whitt is bulls**t. I’m not saying he shouldn’t be criticized, but the extent of it is far beyond what is deserved, and usually not based in reality.

– Fans are bugged that Whitt keeps things from them: This criticism is perhaps the most ridiculous of all. The ONLY reason any of this has become an issue is because fans won’t shut up about it. I spoke with Whitt in 2010 at a charity event. Unprompted, he told me that his least favorite thing about being a coach was rubbing elbows with fans. He just wants to focus on football and his players. That is not a bad thing. That is a good thing. The only downside is fans get restless when things aren’t going great, and it creates a lot of noise. Make no mistake, that noise is created by fan entitlement (not saying that is right or wrong).

– Whitt doesn’t give his OCs freedom: Again, there may be some truth to this in some situations, but this is largely bulls**t. Whitt wants to win. That is what he cares about. He knows how to win. He knows what the numbers say, and he generally sticks with that. When we have a QB who throws three picks to the same mfing player in one very important game, Whitt tells the OC to call plays that limit turnovers because our defense is good enough to win most games for us as long as we don’t turn the ball over. That isn’t bad coaching. When we have an offense that runs at a VERY high level with the right players, Whitt lets the offense do its thing because that is the best way to win games.

The real criticism of Whitt regarding the offense over the years should be his horrible track record in hiring offensive coordinators. So far, he’s only hired the right guy twice (if you count Ludwig once anyway). Chow was good, but he left voluntarily. Ludwig was good until CFB changed in a way that made him obsolete. The others were either not ready or just plain not good. I have yet to see any proof that their lack of success was Whitt being overly controlling. I think it has far more to do with them simply not being the right hire, and us not having the right players in place for them to succeed.

Hopefully, Beck is the right guy for the job.

Maybe I’m wrong about all of this, I don’t really care. I don’t have inside information. I know Whitt, he knows me, but I have never once brought up Utah football around him. My opinions are based on what I’ve seen, and no more.

[BeachUte]

I disagree. Winning the Pac-12 was special. Doing it back-to-back was even more special. I think it’s all relative. Utah is not a football power so I would expect our definition of special to be different than Ohio State’s and I’m fine with that. Utah won the Pac-12, made the Rose Bowl and did something only two programs in the Pac-12 era did: win back-to-back titles.

[Central Coast Ute]

Yep. And unlike previous years, the D was lacking. It was the offense that carried the team.

[Roy Rangum]

Uteanooga and Chinng: I liked Ludwig and agree that he was often better than he gets credit for, but that then begs the question: if Ludwig was such an offensive genius, then why did Whitt fire him last year?

And if the fate of an entire team was riding on one player, which is more likely: the team was previously good because of the coaches, or the team was previously good because of the player?

I personally have little faith in a Whittingham coached offense. However, I will say everyone else’s rose colored glasses is starting to rub off on me. Because if there was ever an offense built for the Whittingham style of play, this team sure sounds like it’s it. But I guess we will all see soon enough.

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