At Utah, Perfection the New Standard

SALT LAKE CITY -- Draped between the mammoth red rock towers framing Rice-Eccles Stadium on a hill overlooking the Salt Lake Valley are a pair of oversized banners -- reminders of the undefeated seasons and BCS Bowl victories Utah has posted in the past few years.

They also serve as stark warning of what is required of the Utes: perfection.

Without it, at least for the current season, Utah is destined for a lower-tier bowl.

With it, the Utes may add a third banner as they exit the Mountain West on their way to the Pac-10.
"It's only one game," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said after a nerve-wracking 27-24 win over the No. 15 Pitt Panthers. "You can't get too excited, but it's a heck of a start for us."

Indeed, with Pitt out of the way, the Utes have a relatively soft schedule to look forward to for the next six weeks with the likes of UNLV, New Mexico and San Jose State on the schedule. Getting on another run and pushing its record to 8-0 is far from an unreachable goal for Utah.

Not until an October 30 date at Air Force will the Utes line up against an opponent that is considered a legitimate threat.

Though the end of Utah's season includes a run of games featuring TCU, Notre Dame and BYU in a four-week span, Thursday night's game against the Panthers was a definite reminder of how precious each week is. While many top teams are opening the season with games against schools far off the Top 25's radar, the Utes -- as well as the Panthers -- took a risk by playing this game so early.

After building a 24-13 lead with 7:59 left in the game, it appeared Utah had things well under control. But illustrating just how slim the difference can be, Pitt stormed back and after a 44-yard touchdown pass from Tino Sunseri to Jon Baldwin (plus a successful two-point conversion), kicker Dan Hutchins fought off a pair of time outs meant to rattle his nerves and booted a 21-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.

Letting the Panthers back into the game frustrated the Utes but also illustrated how precarious their situation is.

"One score might have put the game away at the end," Utah's sophomore quarterback Jordan Wynn, who threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns, said. "The defense bailed us out."

Pitt coach Dave Wannstedt knew his team let a golden opportunity slip away to snap Utah's 18-game home win streak.

"They played extremely hard," Wannstedt said. "They had a few turnovers early and we took advantage of those. But down the stretch they made less mistakes than we did."

Especially in overtime when Pitt's sophomore quarterback, Sunseri, rolled out on the first play and fired a pass that was read easily and picked off by Utah's Brian Blechen.

Calling it the biggest play of the game, Whittingham thanked his freshman defensive back and smiled as he met the press to discuss the game, knowing he easily could have done so with a season-changing loss.

The standards at Utah have been raised. No longer is simply challenging for a MWC title and a spot in the Las Vegas Bowl considered a success. Last year's 10-3 record was a disappointment in the eyes of many in Salt Lake City -- which packed Rice-Eccles with a standing-room only crowd of 45,730.

Whittingham (right), naturally, is keeping his focus no more than one week ahead at a time. Daydreaming about another run to a BCS bowl might be fine and dandy for the fans, but Whittingham knows any such thought process would be counterproductive this early in the season.

"The BCS is not in our conversation," Whittingham said. "We know if we win every game we are Mountain West Conference champions."

Anything more than that, he said, is simply not in his control.

"If you put all your eggs in one basket," Whittingham said, noting the slim margin for error not only in this game, but all season long, "your season is shot."

With its statistically-dominating victory over the Panthers now in the books, -- the Utes had 405 yards of total offense compared to Pitt's 266 -- Utah kept its not-discussed but ever-present BCS hopes alive.

Pitt, even with the loss, can say the same thing.

And that is precisely why Utah's move to the Pac-10 next year was so welcome in Salt Lake City.

Perfection, though a nice goal, will not be a requirement to reach the Rose Bowl.