Utah season in review: After slow start, U. rebounded

All things considered, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham believes the Utes made progress in 2007.

"I think we took another step forward as a program," he said. "We're certainly not to the point where we want to be yet, but we feel we're headed in the right direction."

Though the Utes failed to accomplish their main objective and win the Mountain West Conference championship, they did overcome a slew of injuries and a rocky start to win nine games and extend their streak of bowl victories to seven straight.

The bounce back, Whittingham noted, is what he considers the high point of a season that included a 44-6 win over 11th-ranked UCLA at Rice-Eccles Stadium and an embarrassing 27-0 setback at lowly UNLV. The latter dropped Utah to 1-3 overall.

"After a difficult start, the way the players responded and turned things around and ended up winning eight of their last nine games, I think, was the overall most satisfying aspect of the season," Whittingham said.

The Utes lost four starters to season-ending injuries — senior left tackle Jason Boone (knee), tailback Matt Asiata (broken leg), wide receiver Brent Casteel (knee) and linebacker Kyle Brady (Achilles) — while five others (quarterback Brian Johnson, linebacker Malakai Mokofisi, free safety Robert Johnson, middle linebacker Joe Jiannoni and defensive tackle Gabe Long) were sidelined for at least one game.

When the injuries mounted, Whittingham called for some "heroes" to step forward.

They did and Utah's season was salvaged. The Utes turned things around with a seven-game winning streak.

Junior tailback Darrell Mack was pulled from a planned redshirt year and wound up becoming just the ninth Ute to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. He finished with 1,204 yards on 253 carries.

Whittingham also praised the play of the offensive line, which he said began to gel in week five.

"It was a huge part of our season," he said while singling out Zane Beadles for making a successful move from guard to left tackle. Whittingham was also pleased with the way redshirt freshman Caleb Schlauderaff stepped into a starting role.

Consistent play by the wideouts was another area of satisfaction.

So, too, were the contributions of kicker/punter Louie Sakoda. The two-time MWC Special Teams Player of the Year, who also earned All-America recognition, was "sensational" according to Whittingham.