How good are Utes? We'll see

If you ask Kyle Whittingham about those nagging little problems the Utes have entering today's game against Oregon, the conversation will go like this:

"How do you think your kickers will respond to the atmosphere at Autzen Stadium?"

"We'll find out."

"What about (quarterback) Terrance Cain? How will he respond?"

"We'll find out, as well."

"Are you wearing Spiderman Underoos beneath that shirt?"

"We'll find out."

OK, I made that last one up. The rest is what was said after a Ute practice this week. In other words, he wasn't saying all that much. His plan this year, as every year, is to see what happens, not predict.

The Ute coach may not be colorful, but you have to give one thing to Whittingham: The man has a wonderful poker face. It's hard to tell, if you tuned in late, whether his team won or lost. I'm saying this as a compliment: He reminds me of LaVell Edwards, his college coach.

I'd prefer a guy like former Wyoming coach Joe Glenn, who wore his feelings on his yellow-and-brown shirtsleeve. Of course, that might be part of the reason he's "former."

As tepid as the Utes' season has been so far this year — have you ever seen a less convincing undefeated team? — it's not necessarily a bad sign. This is playing right into Whittingham's plan. You know the one: Lurk in the shadows and pounce when nobody's looking. That's been the Utes' M.O. for Whittingham's four-plus years as head coach. When the flashy Urban Meyer left, Whittingham took over without much fanfare. There was the hiring tug-of-war with BYU, but through it all, Whittingham managed to make it civilized.

I've often wondered why he didn't go all Jim McMahon and say the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen was Provo in his rearview mirror. But noooo, he had to take the high road.

This year, he has a team that allowed Utah State to stay close for two-thirds of the season-opener. The Utes didn't salt away the win over lowly San Jose State until the final minutes of last week's game.

No wonder the voters dropped the Utes in the polls.

Fact is, the Utes do this on a regular basis. Whittingham has said it repeatedly, and I'm actually starting to believe him: ONE GAME AT A TIME.

"We know what our deficiencies are. I still think we have a lot of talent, but we've just got to play opportunistic," he said.

It's true, his teams in general start slow and build, but who knew the Utes would go undefeated last year? They barely hung on to beat an awful Michigan team. They trailed Air Force 16-9 at half, and didn't score the winning touchdown until 58 seconds remained. They made Weber State look like a Division I-A team.

Utah didn't really start looking like a contender until November, after slipping out of a noose at New Mexico.