Washington state has a prolific offense lead by senior grad transfer QB Gardner Minshew. Minshew already has command of the offense. Even in a losing effort to USC Friday night, WSU showed a fearlessness in their passing game. They are not afraid to run vertical routes and throw the ball aggressively on first down. Minshew threw it 52 times vs USC. Utah needs to be able to cover the deep routes and give WSU the shorter routes underneath. Utah needs to make WSU win the game the hard way. USC wasn’t able to get to Minshew without blitzing. That left USC vulnerable over the top too many times and nearly cost USC the game. WSU was great against the blitz against USC. Minshew showed his veteran abilities by picking apart the Trojans when they brought more than 5 rushers. Utah has a better pass rush and better overall coverage in the secondary than USC does. That is how the Utes can stop Gardner Minshew and that WSU offense. This is not the week for Utah to bring heavy pressure. It will not work often against Minshew. Utah needs to be very judicious with their blitzes vs WSU.
