Utah Utes football: QB switch helps ignite Ute offense

How do you bench a quarterback who had completed 77 percent of his passes on the night with no interceptions and no fumbles and has previously led his team to six victories in seven games?

It didn't make sense on a lot of levels for Utah to replace season-long starter Terrance Cain with untested true freshman Jordan Wynn at halftime of a key Mountain West Conference game Saturday night.

But that's exactly what coach Kyle Whittingham did Saturday night against Wyoming, rolling the dice in a big way for a team ranked No. 16 in the BCS standings.

What Whittingham called a "gamble" worked well as Wynn energized a lethargic Ute offense, leading it to four second half scores and a 19-0 edge that gave Utah a 22-10 victory.

"It was a lot of fun out there tonight," said Wynn.

With the Utes trailing 10-3 to an unheralded Wyoming team that the Utes had outscored 90-7 over the past two years and was picked to finish last in the MWC, the Utes decided to make the switch, even though Cain hadn't seemed to do much wrong in the first half.

"We thought it was the right time," Whittingham said. "We were trying to create a spark offensively. Jordan Wynn came in the second half and gave that to us. He did a nice job of running the offense and was very poised and played very well."

Whittingham pointed to the fact that the Utes had were just 1-of-6 on third-down plays and "weren't finishing drives" in the first half.

"Just a couple of things we thought warranted giving Jordan a shot," Whittingham said.

Wynn said he had no inclination he would play Saturday and said he "prepared all week like I was going to play." He said offensive coordinator Dave Schramm told him at halftime he was going in.

After the Utah offense held the Cowboys on a three-and-out, No. 3 — Wynn — came trotting out on the field for his first official action as a Ute.

Wynn's second play was a pass to Luke Matthews in the flat that went for no gain and then on third-and-5, he hit David Reed on the right side for a 12-yard gain. He later hit Reed with a 7-yard pass on a drive that ended with Joe Phillips' 26-yard field goal.

On the go-ahead touchdown drive, Wynn hit Aiona Key and David Reed before lofting a pass over the Wyoming defense to Jereme Brooks in the end zone for a touchdown.

For the night, Wynn finished with 9-of-14 completions for 82 yards and a touchdown.

As for whether Wynn will take over as the No. 1 quarterback, Whittingham wasn't saying, although he sure seemed to like Wynn's performance.

"It's too early to determine," Whittingham said. "We'll analyze the film and break both guys down as far as performance and name a starter on Monday. But we were very pleased with what (Wynn) did."

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