Utah is off to a solid start this season thanks in large part to the play of the defense and the production of the running game. Those two areas have helped to overcome some quarterback indecision for the Utes. After just one week, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has decided to hand the offense back to Travis Wilson under center. Kendal Thompson will return to the back-up position when No. 19 Utah hosts No. 20 USC this weekend.
“We think Travis’ performance is a little bit better so far this season than Kendal overall,” Whittingham said this week. “When you look at the numbers, it’s very close. It’s no different than when we came out of fall camp, with it being a tight race. Kendal has run the ball a little bit better than Travis has so far this season, Travis has thrown the ball a little bit better than Kendal. It’s very tight.”
Whittingham may be giving the starting job back to Wilson, but the head coach of the Utes also suggested Thompson will still see some playing time. This is far from a concrete answer for the quarterback solution at Utah.
“There is a very strong possibility that you’ll see Kendal in the game this week as well,” Whittingham said. “It’s still not what I term a two-quarterback system. People say ‘you’re playing two quarterbacks so it’s a two quarterback system’ – no it’s not, as far as my definition where both guys know they are going to play X amount of time or X amount of plays, whatever the case may be. We’re waiting for some separation to occur. Ideally we’d like some separation to occur, and one guy to take charge and settle in and be the guy, but that hasn’t happened yet, so they’re both going to get opportunities until that does happen.”
Utah’s passing offense ranks 11th in the Pac-12, just ahead of Washington. The Utes quarterbacks have combined for 1,151 passing yards in six games, an average of 191.8 yards per game. Combined, Wilson and Thompson have nine touchdown passes and two interceptions that have come through inconsistent play. Fortunately for Utah, the running game has excelled so far this season and the defense has kept games within reach.