Fun and Games Between Utah and Oregon State

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Jeffrey Martin, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Homepage Photo Credit: osubeaver2000 via Compfight cc

Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is playing coy.

Asked Tuesday during the Pac-12 coaches teleconference call who his starter would be for Thursday’s game at Oregon State, and Whittingham said a decision between incumbent Travis Wilson and transfer Kendal Thompson would be made in the next day or two.

But it wouldn’t be made public.

Call it gamesmanship, which is funny considering the 20th-ranked Utes are a road favorite in Corvallis. Whittingham’s counterpart, Beavers coach Mike Riley, didn’t take offense. Ever diplomatic, he all but yawned at the development.

“Obviously, we have to prepare for both if they’re not going to name a starter,” he said. “They have two good players to pick from… It’s probably a good problem to have.”

Again, such talk is usually coach-speak, a casual and seemingly classy public response to a situation that probably has the defensive staff burning later hours than normal. But Riley knows of what he speaks - Cody Vaz and Sean Mannion waged a fierce battle during last season’s fall camp with Mannion eventually winning out.

The most important aspect, according to Riley, was that it propelled Mannion to the best season of his career.

“It’s a little challenging, probably, with the coaches trying to decide what’s best to do and the players up in the air,” he said. “The bigger issue is the competition brings out the best most of the time and you want to find that out at that position…

“… I think, frankly, that helped them both be better players.”

It might be more of the same at Utah, where Wilson has struggled but nonetheless started all five games for the Utes. Thompson relieved Wilson in a 30-28 upset of UCLA, running for 83 yards while passing for 95 yards and a touchdown.

“Kendal is a good athlete, a very good quarterback in their offense,” Riley said. “… It’s unique and probably good for Utah to have depth at that position… I think it gives them great versatility.”

Meanwhile, Riley acknowledged that the lack of a deep threat to stretch the field is an area of concern, something he hopes the Beavers addressed during the bye week. He said he was happy with the rest of the offense, specifically how involved the running backs are in the passing game, but moving forward, with the remainder of the season, the aerial attack will have to evolve.