PK BLOG

Pssst – do you want to know a secret? Do you promise not to tell?
It’s funny that coaches continue to play games with the media and their fan base, like Kyle Whittingham is doing this week. Not wanting to tip off the opposition, the Ute coach won’t publicly name the team’s starting quarterback until the second Jordan Wynn trots out to take the first snap.
Oh, the mystery of it all.
Not so much.
“I don’t want to create drama,” Whittingham said on the DJ and PK show this week.
Too late.
Coaches are a strange breed, paranoid almost from birth. Somebody is ought to get them.
Whittingham ought to come right out and publicly state that Wynn is his starting quarterback. We all know, anyway.
Instead of pumping up Wynn all week, the coach has to tap dance around the obvious. Athletes, particularly of college age, love to read and hear the good things said about them. Wynn’s confidence would grow if he got public support from his teammates and coaches, who instead have to keep quiet.
I know what you’re thinking. Any coach who is winning, as Whittingham has done at an incredible rate, gets the fans’ support no matter what he does (see Bobby Knight and Rick Majerus as two over-the-top examples), but sometimes there’s a better way.
And the argument that it’s right to withhold an advantage from New Mexico is silly. The hapless Lobos wouldn’t win if the defensive coordinator was in Utah’s huddle before the play.
Last week, the Utes replaced Terrance Cain with Wynn to start the second half against Wyoming. On the DJ and PK morning show this week, coach Dave Christensen said the change didn’t catch his team by surprise and wasn’t the difference in the game.
Given the state of New Mexico’s program, first-year coach Mike Locksley has much more to worry about than Utah’s starting quarterback. Either Wynn or Cain, he knows the Lobos are in for pain.
New Mexico at Utah
Why even bother with this one? As we all know, it’s Utah all the way.
If Wynn starts, the Utes should still find a way to get Cain into the game. As a JC transfer, he could pack it in if there’s no possibility of playing.
It’s not hard to see that he might need to play next week against TCU. Unless Wynn stinks it up, I’d let the freshman play three quarters and then make a change.
If Wynn is bad, let him play through it. The worst possibility is Wynn gets pull for being ineffective – at that point, the quarterback situation becomes a mess heading into the season’s biggest game.
But I don’t see those “ifs” happening.
Utah 38, New Mexico 14
BYU at Wyoming
This is another no-brainer.
Since Bronco Mendenhall became the head coach, the Cougars have owned the Cowboys. Criticize Mendenhall all you want for pushing religion into football and for losing some big games, but don’t even go there when it comes to beating MWC lightweights.
Under the preacher, the Cougars don’t lose games they are supposed to win. This one is no exception.
After a miserable performance against TCU, the offense needs to dominate. If all goes according to plan, Max Hall should be standing on the sidelines in the fourth quarter.
BYU must regain its confidence now to have a chance at beating Utah in three weeks.
BYU 35, Wyoming 10