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Even though Connor Halliday has played less than a full game for the Washington State Cougars, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said Tuesday that the Utes have plenty of film on the freshman quarterback.
Halliday was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week after completing 27 of 36 passes for 494 yards and four touchdowns in the Cougars' 37-27 upset of Arizona State. He entered the game on the third series in relief of senior Marshall Lobbestael.
That he made such an impact has given the Utes plenty of material to study, Whittingham said.
"He threw something like 40 balls; that is a lot of throws to go on," he said.
Whittingham said he didn't expect the Cougars to change much of the offense this week, given Halliday's success.
"I don't think I'd tweak much," he said. "The kid threw for almost 500 yards."
Injury report
The Utes don't have any injuries to players they expected to play this week, but they still suffered another season-ending injury. Backup quarterback Tyler Shreve, whom the Utes decided to redshirt this year, broke his right thumb and had to have surgery.
He is the eighth player to go down with a season-ending injury this year for the Utes.
Getting props
The Utes are preparing for Washington State's prolific passing attack, but at least they feel good about their defense, especially the way the secondary is producing big plays.
Whittingham said cornerback Conroy Black, who has three interceptions in the past two games, is making the kind of impact the Utes had hoped he would.
"He has a lot of tools," Whittingham said. "He is close to 6-1, has some blazing speed so he is the whole package. Right now he is playing excellent football for us and we need that to continue. We're pleased with the year he has had for us."