After the crowd of Utah coaches and players shuffled into the tunnel at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Andy Ludwig followed slowly behind.

Utah's offensive coordinator was alone and clearly dejected by his third straight loss.

And after another miserable offensive performance, Ludwig's boss knew that something had to change.

“Everything is uncertain right now,” Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said. “Everything is up for evaluation and we will evaluate it.”

The Utes (4-3, 1-3 Big 12) were defeated by TCU (3-3, 2-2) 13-7 on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. For the third game in a row, their offense was abysmal. They scored a punt on 11 of their 14 total drives. They were 2 for 15 on third down. Freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson was sacked four times and completed 52% of his passes.

Utah's head coach said some tough decisions will be made in the next 24 to 48 hours.

“The positive thing is that we know exactly what our problem is,” Whittingham said. “What we have to do to fix the problem is our job as coaches. The players play hard – I don’t throw any player under the bus. But it's hard to figure out. If you had told me that we would limit it to 13 points. I thought we would win 20 out of 20 times.

“There is no secret about what our problems are. It's been showing for three weeks in a row now. We have to take a hard look at everything in the next 24 to 48 hours, make some tough decisions and then see where we are.”

The Utes clearly need to pay attention to Ludwig and his style of play.

Utah's offense ranked next to last in the Pac-12 last season as the Utes played without quarterback Cam Rising. History appears to have repeated itself in 2024. Utah's offense ranks near the bottom of the Big 12 in total offense. They lead the conference in interceptions thrown. Utah's offense has topped 30 points only twice this season (against Southern Utah and Utah State).

Something is obviously not working.

That prompted Wilson to apologize to Utah's defense, which rebounded from back-to-back poor performances Saturday night.

“As an entire offensive unit, we want to apologize to the defense,” Wilson said. “It's a team game, but they did their best. We have to get more than seven points per game.”

Time will tell what changes Whittingham will make.

But something has to give.

Whittingham knows. The players know it. The fans who booed the Utes off the field at halftime know it.

“I guess we're doing fine other than scoring points, getting first downs, running the ball, throwing the ball efficiently or converting on third or fourth downs,” Whittingham said deadpan. “Otherwise, I think we’re fine.”

Defense was the only bright spot in the loss

After struggling for two straight weeks, the Utes defense got back on track against TCU.

They held the Horned Frogs to a season-low 13 points on Saturday night. Utah also forced a turnover and blocked a field goal. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover finished the contest with 22 of 41 yards and a rushing touchdown.

“Very proud of our defense,” Whittingham said. “I’m very proud of the defensemen for holding this team to 13 points and what they’ve done this year without really providing help on the field or staying off the field.”

Last week, ASU running back Cam Skattebo rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns on Utah's defense. The Horned Frogs totaled 133 rushing yards and averaged four yards per carry, a significant improvement from the week before.

“We played good defense,” Utah defensive tackle Keanu Tanuvasa said. “We gave it our all and I’m very proud of my defense, our defense. But we didn't make it tonight. We are not a team that gives up and we are not a team that gives up. We’ll find a way to get there next week.”

Whittingham responds with boos from the Utes fans

It's not often that the Utes get booed on their home field.

But a sluggish offensive performance and a third straight loss made Utah fans hear it Saturday night.

Whittingham responded to fans' mockery after the game.

“They have the right to do whatever they want,” he said. “They paid money for the tickets. If they aren't happy and want to react that way, that's okay. We have played a lot of good football over the years and given them a lot of positive things to be happy about, but there has certainly been nothing to be happy about in the last few games.”

Utah will next face Houston (2-5, 1-3) on Saturday, October 26, in Houston, Texas.

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