YAY!

Didn´t see the game. My excuse? I´m in S America. Still sucked that I couldn´t watch it though. Anywho, WE WON. Convincingly. Good deal eh? Understand that we pretty much shut down that ´dangerous´Oregon State running game. HA. well, we´ve handled run teams pretty well this year. Anyway, we won, so nothing more can be said.

(Blue)Victory...Barely

The rushing on to the field after the winning TD pass. I kissed the grass, even if it is crappy and has been falling apart all year.


Malu (my wife) has become a true cougar and admitted that Swoop, (the other teams mascot) is really dumb looking and quite crappy overall. As opposed to an awesome, sleek break-dancing cosmo. She enjoyed attending her first game ever.


There were pockets of U fans all over, this is an angle of where we sat, and the valiant enemies who represented despite being surrounded by a sea of blue.


Hall played like crap, the offense didn't do squat in the second half, and Bronco refused to follow the standard football procedures *(such as deferring the opening kickoff, icing opposing kickers with time outs, and going for the win with three time outs and 30 seconds left). But most important of all? Hall had ZERO turnovers. Granted, he had a lame duck game as far as his record is concerned, but hey, at least he didn't gift wrap the game like he did last year. *More on hall later.
With all that has been said about the game in other places, I am not going to pull the long boring play-by-play that RED usually does, but here are a few of my thoughts:
The defense- did an outstanding job. I was particularly impressed, as I have been all year, with #7 corner Logan. The guy is shorter than I am and I am no giant, yet he applies pressure and makes tackles, and even manages to break up a pass or two.
Gorgeous George- The guy has been there when you needed him. As much as I like Pitta, I have always been glad when George made big plays instead of him because George is essentially been living in Pitta's Shadow for his career. Good job on catching the ball George, this caffeinated beverage is for you.
Oopsey Woopsey- Is what one U fan who sat behind us screamed maybe 200 times throughout the course of the game. Let me just say to you if you are reading this, you were killing me with you stupidity and I was really wishing you'd be struck mute. Shakespeare somes up my feelings for you best when he wrote "Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon!" Timon, Timon of Athens.
Mike Wright- A UofU linebacker said "We're going to show them what's up this upcoming week." All I can say is: HA!
Helicopters- Are cool, especially ones that say BYU on the bottom of them.
MY HAT- You know what I am talking about RED, hand it over.
Sweet Uniforms- The 1984 throwbacks were really, really cool. I wish we'd just go back to those because they looked snappy.
Next year- I am not looking forward. Quick rundown of seniors leaving and the impact: Offense- The QB, center, both tight ends, Tonga, and likely Unga, so both RBs Defense- Pretty much all the good ends and backs, linebackers, and the safety. So... Bummer for us.

Max Hall's mouth- Wish he'd have kept it shut. I read the apology, and I can even understand that the U fans have been incredible wanks to him and his since last year, but still. HATE? That's a pretty strong word to be throwing around so liberally. I find myself extremely irritated that what should have been focus on a team victory over a bitter rival has now turned into state and nationwide psycho-analysis on why Hall ran his mouth. Both sides have douche-bag fans. The U people can't stand the righteous, uppity attitude of some BYU fans and the BYU people can't stand the crass, alcohol influenced actions of some U fans. Different kinds of douche-baggery, spread equally across the board.

So in conclusion, we won, I'm glad.

(Red) Keys to victory

DON'T TURN THE BALL OVER! - since Wynn has taken over this hasn't been that big of an issue, offensively anyways.

DON'T HAVE STUPID PENALTIES - Utah can not give byU extra plays. They can't take a 3rd and long and turn it into a 3rd and manageable. they need to get off the field on 3rd downs.

Harness the emotion - The is a huge game and Utah needs to harness the emotion that will be going on at the beginning at end of the game. They need to keep their cool to help avoid one of the other keys of penalties.

Win special teams - Special teams really hurt Utah against TCU. If they can win this they probably win the game. Shaky Smithson could possibly bust a return this game, because it sounds as if byUs kick coverage isn't very good. And also win the field position battle with the punting. Utah can't give byU short fields. I like Utahs defense when they have to make the opposition drive 80ish yards.

BRING THE HEAT! - Max Hall can't handle it. Period. Get in his grill and knock him down.

(Red) Position breakdown

QB - Senior BYU Max Hall  vs.  Freshman Utah Jordan Wynn
Experience vs inexperience has been the theme through out the media this week. Max Hall is the vet that has been playing for 3 years and he is BYUs winningest QB. Jordan Wynn is trying to grow a mustache, and he did handle the pressure of TCU much better. The kid has a ridiculous amount of potential. He is a gun slinger and will go deep on BYU early and often. I actually think Wynn may be more talented but if you look at the experience I have to go with my head and not my heart....
Advantage - BYU (but watch out for the frosh)

RB - BYUs Unga, DiLuigi, the other dude. vs Utahs Wide III, Shakerin, and Smithson
Unga will get his yards if healthy, no question. The kid is a stud. I'm not sold on the other 2 backs, they are ok but that about it. Wide is the league leader is rushing yards right now and he practically didn't play in the first 3 1/2 games. He is almost to 1000 for the season. Shak is a great backup, although he is also a frosh, he is a bruiser. And Shaky Smithson you will see in the wild cat taking snaps. Running up the gut may be a challenge for Utah but around the edge I don't see much of a problem.
Advantage - Push

WR - BYUs Jacobson, Chambers, and the other white guy vs Utahs Reed, Brooks, Smithson, Christopher, Mathews.
Ya Utah has a lot of wide outs. And they have the best wideout in the conference in David Reed. Nobody on BYU can cover him or Brooks, or any wide out for that matter. Jacobson is pretty fast, but thats about it for BYU.
Advantage - Utah


TE - Don't even need to break this down.
Advantage - BYU


O-Line - Zane Beadles, Zane Taylor, and Caleb Schlauderhoff are the anchors of the Utah o-line. And they are good. BYUs o-line has given up a lot of pressure on Max Hall, and we all know what happens then. BYUs o-line has done pretty good this year but I still think they are shaky at best.
Advantage - Utah


Defense
I'll make this one easy. Utah Koa Misi, Nai Fotu, Dave Kruger (yes he's the brother of Paul) Stevenson Sylvester, Mike Wright, Kepa Gaison, Joe Dale, and the best safety in the conference Robert Johnson. BYU has Jan Jorgensen.... and who else? Scott Johnson?
Advantage- Utah ... big time


Special teams -
Kickoffs - Ben Vroman is a touchback machine and Utahs return guys, if given a chance, are dangerous.
Advantage - Utah
Place kicking - Joe Phillips has been consistant for Utah since taking over. He's reliable, he has missed a few kicks. I know BYU people are scared of their own place kicker.
Advantage- Utah
Punting - I know both teams have good punters.
Advantage - Push
Punt returns - I think both teams need to learn how to hold onto the ball when fielding the punt.
Advantage - Push

Head Coach - Kyle Whittingham vs Bronco Mendenhall
I would say Kyle is a much better big game coach. I think that shows with the 13-0 run last year and helping this very young Utah team get to 9-2 in a reloading year. Bronco is consistent and wins games, but i don't think his motivation tactics are good, at all, and I think his in game adjustments are... well.. non existent. And i mean seriously listen to the man talk you wouldn't like him either.
Advantage - Utah


more to come...

(Red) more funny stuff

Q: What do you call a BYU player with a BCS ring?
A: A thief!



Q: What's the only sign of intelligent life in Provo?
A: Salt Lake City: 40 Miles

Q: What's the hardest thing about being a BYU Cougar fan?
A: Telling your parents that you're gay.

Q: Did you hear about the Brigham Young University fan who locked his keys in his car?
A: He couldn't get his family out.

Q: What do BYU and pot have in common?
A: They both get smoked in bowls!

Q: What should you do if you find three Brigham Young University fans buried up to their neck in cement?
A: Get more cement.

Two Brigham Young University fans were walking down the street when they came upon a dog lying on the sidewalk licking and cleaning his groin like dogs do.
The first BYU fan says to the second, "Boy, I wish I could do that."
The second BYU fan replies, "Yeah, me too. But I wouldn't try it."
The first BYU fan asks, "Why not?"
The second BYU fan replies, "Because I'm afraid the dog might bite me."

Q. What did the BYU graduate say to the Utah graduate?
A. "Welcome to McDonald's. May I take your order, please?"

Q: Why do Brigham Young University fans keep their diplomas on their dashboards?
A: So they can park in handicap spaces.

Q: What do you call a good looking girl on the Brigham Young University campus?
A: A visitor.

(Blue) Smack talk you say....

Well,
I will put these up for all to see. I found them on ahajokes.com.

Q: What do you get when you crossbreed U. football and a groundhog?

A: Six more weeks of bad football!


Q: How do you get a U. of U. grad off your front porch?

A: Pay him for the pizza.


Q: What do you call a U. of U. fan with half a brain?

A: Gifted.


The engineer who graduated from Utah State asks, "How does that work?''

The engineer who graduated from BYU asks, "How can I make that work better?''

The engineer who graduated from the U. of U. asks, "Would you like fries with that?''


Q: What does the Ute student get on his SAT?

A: Drool.


Q. How many U. of U. graduates does it take to change a light bulb?

A. Answer unknown. Still searching for a U. of U. graduate with the qualifications to do such a task.


Q: How many Utes does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Just one. . ..but he gets three credit hours for it.


Q. How do you tell the difference between a BYU coed and a U. of U. coed?

A. The BYU coed is looking for a husband. The U. coed is looking for the father.




Anywho, that seems like enough for now. Enjoy douchebag red.

(Red) byU coed jokes!

Todays is -

What does a moped and a BYU coed have in common?


They're both okay while the ride lasts, but you don't want anyone to see you on them.

(Blue)*WARNING* I intend to deceive.

I like Air Force.
That being said, I am not too fond of refs these days. As is customary, there was a good old fashioned throw down with AFA this past Saturday. There were the chop blocks, triple options, and discipline that we've come to expect from AFA. What was new were the douche bag calls that effectively took away two touch downs from us and gave one to them. In the interest of being impartial, the calls were legitimate rules and I am sure that most of them were warranted. What I disliked were the following- an unnecessary roughness against our defender when the offense was still trying to run. The flagging of Hafoka down when he rolled over a defender and never actually touched the ground. And of course, the intent to deceive call. Basically, it was a like the first sneaky move ever that BYU has pulled this year (not true, but for effect) and it worked beautifully. What bothers me is this: the wording of the penalty. My friend RED informs me that the call was technically sound and I believe him, but it makes the officials sound like morons. If there was no intent to deceive in football, what the h*@% would the point be? I can just see it now, the QB lines up, and then shouts clearly to the defense, "HEY, we are going to throw a short pass to Pitta and a left to right crossing route, and... uh, it's on two guys. ARe you guys ready to start? Great, ok, HUT HUT..." Well you can imagine. Anyway, we walked away with a victory and Big Steve and I felt justified that at least we didn't freeze out butts off in Lavell Edwards Stadium for nothing.
Now, for the enemy at had.

University of Utah... I don't even want to talk about you. I predict a victory for BYU, but a close game. History backs that up, in 8 of the last 12 conflicts, the score has been determined by12 points or less(I read that in our student paper... which I write for, so it's obviously a sound well assembled document:)-Shameless plug). I worry about the passing game of their offense, but I believe our defense will find a way to deny them too much. I like our offensive scheme, if we aren't too predictable and we can give Hall enough time. AND IF HE DOESN'T throw INTERCEPTIONS! I say, let the runners loose this game, and throw to shake things up sparingly. Anyway, I am officially throwing down the gauntlet for RED to address the situation, and I am sure he will with gusto.

(Red) My story on the BCS...

So I am currently conducting a story on the BCS. My story is a little bit different than the normal bcs stories. Mine is about the financial aspect of things. I am considering posting some of the media modules I've been doing throughout this semester. Here is one interesting number I have stumbled upon with in research thus far....

2008 Utah Utes (13-0)
Net earnings from sugar bowl win - ~$1.5 Million

University of Washington Huskies (0-12)
Net earnings from being in the Pac 10 and USC going to the rose bowl - ~$1 Million

hmmmmmmmmmm

(Blue) The lobos have teeth... for us anyway.

I was an angry guy with two minutes left in our game against New Mexico on Saturday. It's a good thing they couldn't get anything going, because we played maybe ten or fifteen minutes of good football combined throughout the whole game. It is worrisome that this should occur right before Air Force (who almost beat Utah and TCU). And of course the used douches from SLC.
Speaking of the douches...
They lost. I was glad. Not just for the conference, but so Red could be forced to see the mortality of his own team. They lost by less than we did, but hey, four less than we did. They scored more, but allowed more against TCU. So I am interested to see what happens end of November.
Though this has nothing to do with the conference or even football, big props to Real Salt Lake for getting into the Championship, that was crazy.
In other Mountain West news, good job to Wyoming for coming from a large deficit to beat SDSU. I was all kinds of pleased because I kind of like the Cowboys(but than again, it's easy to like someone you shut out 2 years in a row.)
Just a few more comments, what the heck was up with the Lobo kicker? C'mon man, that is just unbelievable. Cross bars THREE times for points lost. Guess the force was with us.
And Wynn is new, high fives for your three or so good passes to Reed, but I still think Utah is trying to be too clever for it's own good. That is all, next week will tell more tales.

(Red) The beat down in cow town...

Yes Utah lost. I would say not a surprise this is TCUs year. I'm not ashamed to lost to a top 5 team. After all when they go to the BCS that will be more money for the conference and in 2 of the 4 years of the BCS evaluation period the MWC will have 2 bcs teams, Utah (08) and TCU (09). But to the game. Overall the thing that makes me the most sick was the special teams. Jay Hill, the special teams coach, should be suspended for the way special teams played tonight. Granted Utah probably doesn't win tonight anyway but the special teams put the rest of a team in a hole. There was a fumble on a kick off, a blocked punt, a punt returned to the 30 yard line, a couple botched returned kick offs that put the offense in a hole. I would say the special teams were directly responsible for at least 21 points for TCU tonight. The defense, despite the bad numbers, I think played ok at best. They gave up a few big runs but overall the TCU offense only had a couple sustained drives of big yardage. I'd say TCU earned 28 points on offense tonight on good drives. They way they did it was different than i expected too. Dalton didn't overwhelm me tonight. The game plan for him was swing passes and thats about it. Some missed tackles helped those plays out a lot. I still think he is an average qb. The running backs did a great job later in the game when the defense was tired. They would use the speed of utah against them and misdirect the running plays to get the momentum moving one way and coming back the other, a lot of plays utah used to beat TCU within the last 3 years. And offensively I think it was ok there as well given the quality of TCUs defense. I think Utah scored the most points on them this year, 28. Wynn had a bad INT for a TD but it was a freshman mistake locking in on the wide out. He made some ballsy plays however, a great rollout and improv throw to DeVonte Christopher. Some great throws to david Reed. Overall I thought he played rather well given the situation. The play calling I wasn't a huge fan of outside of one drive well the calls were mixed well with run and passes of various kinds. I think we should have went to Reed more often. Time after time Reed got behind their corners, no one for the rest of the year will be able to guard Reed, period. I thought they abandoned the run for a little to long to. Yeah it wasn't working very well but still you need to still run the ball to keep the D honest.
It is what it is. We lost. Only for the 2nd time in 2 years. So I'm ok with it overall, just a couple small things could have made this a much closer game and thats the frustrating part. I think Utahs speed matched up well with them just to many mistakes. over 100 yards penalties. most on defense too. We have them in a 3rd and 10 and get an offsides and turn it into 3rd and short. With all that being said Utah needs to get up off the mat now and move on to SDSU. I don't think Utah loses again this year. But they need to worry about SDSU and take care of business there, get some confidence back and they will be in great shape. This teams youth will build upon a loss like this. It should make them hungrier for the next meeting with the Frogs next year... back in Rice-Eccles Stadium.

And WTF happened in Albuquerque?  BYU almost losing to UNM, a winless UNM. I didn't watch the game but wow. BYU is vulnerable right now going into Air Force not to mention the match up at the end of the season with Utah. I think there is reason to be concerned in Provo. If there wasn't already.

(Blue) The season moves on.

We beat Wyoming. I'd say that we had our most complete game to this point. The only thing that frustrated me about that game was the "mercy mode" that BYU always assumes in those situations. It seems to me that we are doing a disservice to our future team by keeping our future QB from being able to really play hard when he does get on the field. But a clean win. We looked a lot better against them than the U, but that was a different game and we just came off a BYE, so that made a difference.
The UofU beat New Mexico, big whoop, who hasn't?
This week TCU and Utah in Texas. You know what I think, I say TCU wins by more than ten, RED thinks they win or lose by less then ten. We'll see.
We play New Mexico this week. If we lose to them, I'll open up my veins.

(Red) We have a Wynn-er!

18/28 ; 297 yards; 2 TDs 1 INT; Is that a line you would expect from a TRUE FRESHMAN starting QB. For a kid that is not even a calendar year out of his senior year in high school he has given the Ute offense a spark it has been looking for. The kid looks like he just barely hit puberty and he is drawing many comparisons to GASP ... Alex Smith, the greatest Ute QB of all time. I'm not going to lie, watching the kid tonight I could have mistaken him for the one time #1 overall pick in the NFL draft. Now we all know it was against a winless New Mexico, but still his poise in the pocket and down field accuracy was great. This is an 18 year old kid we are talking about, not a seasoned vet. I am the first to admit that I am a huge Terrance Cain fan, but with Wynn this offense has gotten a spark. Now I think that is largely due to the fact that play calling has changed hands going to Aaron Roderick now instead of Dave Schramm. Coach Rod has opened up the playbook into more of a true spread, which we saw tonight. More option runs, more 5 wide sets, more reverses, more down field throws. That is a distinct difference between Wynn and Cain as well. Wynn is not scared to throw it down field, he is a gun slinger. Cain would hesitate to throw the deep ball, much more conservative. Since Wynn has taken the reigns of the offense they are averaging over 30 points a game, and he has played a game and a half. Thats 19 points in the Wyo game and 45 tonight, and they are still leaving points on the field. They just need to clean up some ball security issues and this offense has even more potential now. Also something to keep in mind, Wynn, Shakerin (100 yards tonight), Luke Mathews, DeVonte Christopher are all just freshmen on this Ute squad. and they are all seeing significant time (not to mention about 5 or 6 defenders as well). The future is bright for the boys in Crimson. But for now the question at hand is, is Wynn capable of going into Fort Worth and beating #6 TCU. I guess we will find out....

More on the showdown with TCU as the week progresses

(Red) The Utah QB Situation

So last week against Wyoming Utah did something I was hoping they would avoid. They played Jordan Wynn. The true freshman went through 7 and 1/2 games of the season without playing, I was hoping for a redshirt season but Utah decided otherwise. Now with me I'm a big Terrance Cain fan, I laid out his stats last week and he did lead Utah to a 6-1 record. In all honesty I believe the Qb that gives the team the best chance to win should play. If thats Wynn or Cain I'm fine with that. There is no question Wynn is going to be a stud for years to come, he has a cannon for an arm. So I guess may the best QB play.

(Blue) Cain, sorry buddy.

From the UofU coaching staff.
Dear Terrance Cain,

Bummer for you man. We guess winning most of your games and filling the shoes of B. Johnson in a big way is just not enough. We looked at the stats, you were doing your job. Unfortunately for you, the other guy is pretty good too. Wynn is just a strong arm and that's a different kind of QB. From the staff of the UofU, we're letting you go. It's not you, its us. We're just not heading in the same direction anymore. Lets just be friends. Lets just say that we're a company and we're not picking up your option. Feel free to keep talking to the team and coming to practice, but you should probably avoid the family gatherings from here on out. We mean, how awkward would it be if we were at a function with Wynn on our arm and then we turn around and there you are, looking at us with sad puppy dog eyes. Please don't turn to drinking, we are sure there's someone out there good enough for you ... just not us.
Respectfully (insert awkward handshake/hug),
The coaches of UofU




Ok, so this letter is a gross exaggeration of the story. I'm sure Cain will be in and out of play lots before the end, but it was just to illustrate a point in how it must have felt to Cain in their last game. In all honesty, that would blow. On the other hand, that wouldn't kill me if it happened to Hall someday...
Anywho, this week, we go to Laramie. As LaVell once said, "I'd rather be losing in Provo than winning in Laramie." Amen, Wyoming blows. I've been there, it blows. Sorry Wyoming, I'm sure you like it, but it's hella ugly except for Yellowstone.
So we'll see if this bye week will get the team back on track. On a side note, if I hear Bronco say the word execute or any of its variations again... STOP DENYING IT BRONCO, WE JUST AREN'T BETTER THAN SOME TEAMS> NO AMOUNT OF "EXECUTION" CAN MAKE UP FOR NO CORNERS, CRAPPY SECONDARY, HIT AND MISS O-LINE, AND SLOW WHITE GUYS. Sorry, somebody had to say it. That being said, I'd rather have our discipline than Utah's athleticism. Seriously, it's a team game and I think the the team than is more cohesive and controlled will generally beat a faster more athletic team. We will see. Till next time.

(Red) Late Midseason Grades - #16 Utah Utes (6-1)

QB -Terrance Cain 127/201 ;1502 yards ;63.2% Completion %;11 TDs/5 INTs ;77 rushes 286 yards 2TDs
Grade - B
Cain has been I would say as advertised thus far in the season. Sure there has been some growing pains as the season has progressed and I expected that. I know some people are expecting this kid to pick up where Sugar Bowl MVP and MWC Offensive MVP Brian Johnson left off. He is through 7 games of his Ute career and he has led them to a 6-1 record and is managing the game very well. He has a few fumbles, but he is a running QB that is to be expected at times. Yeah he needs to clean it up a little bit but he is playing very good thus far. I'm satisfied with him and I think he is going to get much much better.

RB - Eddie Wide III (86 rushes 530 yards 6.2 YPC 5TDs  / Matt Asiata 75 rushes 330yrds 4.4 YPC 4TDs)
Grade B+
Matt Asiata started the season on fire. He was running for over 100 yards a game and was running people down. He looked great and was catching the ball out of the backfield. Then against Louisville he ran in a 30+ yard TD on an option play and on that play he tore his ACL and we lost for the season. Things looked scary with our offensive giant going down. Enter Eddie Wide III. Since Asiata's injury Wide has ran for 4 consecutive 100 yard games and is 2nd only to BYU's Harvey Unga, which is remarkable considering Wide rarely saw the ball for the first 3 1/2 games. The coaches have been keeping his carries down to make sure he doesn't get beat up because of his small frame. So with around 17 carries a game he is still averaging a large number of yards. He is playing very well.

WR - David Reed (44 rec 688 yrds 4TDs); Jereme Brooks (28 rec 296 yrds 3 TDs);
Grade - C
David Reed is the best wide out in the conference. Period. He has taken minimal passes and made huge plays (1 slant went 60 yards for a TD and another went for 90 yards and a TD). The rest of the crew has been.. well they have been OK. The blocking by the wide outs has been really good all season freeing each other up for big games. Brooks, outside of maybe the San Jose game and Oregon, has been rather disappointing. He has dropped a number of big passes. Aiona Key, similar situation, he would have much better numbers but, dropped passes. John Peel, dropped passes and FUMBLES. He fights for more yards and always seems to be dropping the ball when he does. If they clean up the dropped balls I would bet Cain would be closer to a 70% completion % and much more yards and first downs. They clean those issues up this offense becomes scary.

O-Line
Grade - B
Early in the season the o-line had a hard time opening holes in the redzone for the RBs to get into the end zone. They have given Cain some good protection all year. He hasn't been sacked much, most of them came in the Air Force game who has been putting pressure on the QB all year. They have been instrumental to helping Wide getting into a groove and getting the yards they have. If they would have been a little better earlier in the year it could be an A.

Overall Offense
B-
Dave Schramm is in his first year as an O Coordinator. He has done pretty good thus far while protecting and developing his young QB. I know fans would like to see it opened up a little bit more but I think we are in good shape as is. We are around #4 in the conference in total offense after a few games of struggling. The biggest problem with this offensive squad is the fumbling problem. Fumbles have continually ended promising drives and have disrupted the rhythm of the offense. They need to start holding onto the ball, if they do this offense could be much more explosive then they are already.
__________________________

Defensive Line
Grade - B
Up until the last couple games this grade was easily a C. They have really done a nice job the last couple weeks eliminating the big running plays and making it difficult to run the ball. I wasn't all that worried about the run defense I knew it would come around. I would like to see some more pass pressure however. They are not really getting the sacks that we are used to. They have been getting close but as the season winds down I would like to see some more QBs on their back. The youth here is amazing, this is going to be a good unit for the next 3 to 4 years to come.

Line Backers
Grade - B+
They are the anchor of the defense and they have been playing well. A lot of tackles and just reliable. I would say the best Linebacker core in the MWC. Sly has made some huge plays, especially with the game winning tackle in overtime vs Air Force. I just would like to see them create more turnovers.

Secondary
Grade - A-
Yes the Utes have 2 new corners and have given up a few big plays and some pass interferences. But with the scheme Coach Whitt likes to run this is to be expected. And they are actually one of the best pass defenses in the country statistically. They have just as much speed as anybody in the country. But the real stars of the secondary are the safeties. They have the best safety tandem in the conference hands down. Joe Dale is always around the ball making tackles. He is down right now with a hurt knee but he is still a stud. And the defensive player of the year thus far in the MWC has to be Robert Johnson. He has 5 picks on the season, 2 or so fumble recoveries and a couple of TDs. He was the team leader in tackles against AFA and is everywhere. He has a ton of pass break ups as well. The pretty much eliminates the middle of the field for opposing QBs. Every time a QB has tested him, he has come up big.

Overall Defense Grade
B+
Kalani Sitaki has had a pretty good start to his career as Defensive coordinator thus far. If they eliminate the big plays and get a few more take aways this is an A grade. Defense is never a problem at the U.

Special Teams
B+
This grade would have been a D if after the SJSU game. Vroman missed some FGs.... badly. And against Oregon they gave up a punt for a TD. Overall it has been a solid unit. They are best in the conference in kickoff/punt return yards with Luke Matthews, Devonte Christopher, David Reed, Eli Wesson, and Jereme Brooks busting off some great returns. The kicking game has been solidified with Joe Phillips taking control of being the FG kicker. He has been perfect with FGs since he took over and has some deep kicks (49 yarder). Sean Sellwood has been Louie Sakoda-esk with his punting. He was the special teams player of the week against AFA because he downed some great punts within 20 and 10 yard lines. This kid looks really good. Outside of really 1 game and 1 play this has been a pretty surprising unit.

The team is 6-1, ranked #16 in the BCS poll, and Coach Whitt teams have traditionally gotten better as the season has progressed, so things are looking pretty good thus far for the Utes. It's been a good reloading year thus far. The biggest challenges lie ahead as well.

(Red) Bowl eligible again, and the beat down in P-Town.

If you lose the time of possession battle almost 2 to 1. They have 10+ more first downs than you. More yards, and you lose the turnover battle you lose right? Wrong. Utah lost every statistical category against the Air Force Academy except 2. Passing yards (which is a given) and the most important stat of all, score. The first Utah overtime game since the 2005 Holy War was a weird game to say the least. On the first possession Eddie Wide grabbed a Cain fumble and ran it in for a TD, and Joe Phillips shanked the following PAT. Who would have known that would have a huge impact on the game. AFA only offensive TD came on an 11 yard field after a muffed punt, so the D played great. They gave up 200 yards of rushing but it was on 75 carries, so the yards per carry was very small. And David Reed once again proved he was the best wide out in the MWC. He took a 10 yard slant pattern 90 yards for a TD to change all the momentum of the game. Utah was definitely their own worst enemy in this game. Putting the ball on the ground 6 times (only losing 2) and having drive altering penalties (3rd and 1 and 2s turning into 3rd and longs with false starts). AFA holding onto the ball for extended periods of time doesn't help either. When OT came however the offense got it together and moved the ball into the end zone without any issue. And shutting down AFA on a short field in OT is a great accomplishment as well. So throw out the stats with these 2 teams just take the score.

As for the beat down in P-Town, let's say I am not surprised. I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt since it was home and I thought they would lose by 10 but watching the game it is apparent BYU is a long ways off from where they want to be, and they won't be getting close anytime soon. BYUs defense is bad, no other way to put it. They thought they got better from last year but I was skeptical. FSU, TCU, and SDSU for that matter exposed them for what they are. A bad secondary, possibly worse than last year and a D line that can't apply pressure as well as a coaching staff that remains stubborn and refuses to accept the obvious. And it is also obvious their offense is not as good as previous years. They have no wide receiver threats. TCU took out the tight ends and their passing game was all but done, not to mention Max Hall can not handle pressure... at all. It is so obvious that without Austin Collie this team has no go to wide out. Sure McKay Jacobson is good and all but he is not a #1 wideout for most teams, he can beat you deep from time to time but he doesn't put fear into a defense. O'Neil Chambers is a poor wide out right now as well. Their running game is strong with Unga but without those wide outs they will be in trouble. And their O line is gelling well but Max Hall has been running around a lot more this year than ever. TCU was in the back field regularly as was FSU, OU, and any other team with athletic lineman. Right now BYU is the 3rd best team in the conference. Even behind Utah, even if Blue hates to admit it. As long as BYU has a bad D and a offense that has Max Hall and not to mention a bad special teams, they are #3 right now. And as of right now I would say yes TCU probably beats Utah in Fort Worth. But I doubt they will get "KILLED" like my compadre pointed out. Utah has speed that can keep up with TCU. You will not see Utah getting beat around the edges and deep like what happened to BYU. Ya I would put them as 14 point dogs right now but thats not bad. If Utah corrects the issues they have right now, turnovers, they will put up a hell of a fight. And although Cain has had a problem with fumbling the ball as of late, he still only has 5 INTs on the season, so he is careful and calculated with his passes. And one other factor why Utah is better than BYU right now and why they can keep it close to TCU, Kyle Whittingham. He is a much better coach than Bronco Mendenhall right now, especially in big games. And since TCU has joined the conference he is 3-1 against the Frogs, so he can get the team up and scheme very well. And truth of the matter is he has pretty much out coached Bronco in every rivalry game since they have been coaching, just those 2 years no doubt BYU had either more talent or was much more healthy. And the way Robert Anae/Jamie Hill calls plays I think it is fair to put them at #3 right now. So much for when BYU has a senior QB they win conference titles, and it appears the mystic of LaVell Edwards Stadium is gone, at least as long as BYU has SWGS (slow white guy syndrome).

(Blue) Well, there goes the neighborhood...

We lost. We lost on all fronts. Defense, offense, special teams. But guess what, I feel fine. First of all, they were the better team. I think they had better coaching schemes, faster and better athletes, and better focus. That's not to diss our coaches, athletes, and focus, but the results tell the story.
I think we are better than Utah, we shall see. But I KNOW that TCU is going to kill them in Texas. The reason why I am so non plussed by the loss is this: BCS. TCU jumped Boise and I hate Boise, so thats good. Additionally, they will best represent the MW nationally. And also, there is more money to be gleaned this way.
For our game, we have no secondary, and our corners are just sad. Play calling was craptastic in certain situations, and we couldn't get anything rolling on offense because TCU's defense got to Hall all the time. All of our glaring weaknesses were exploited and there were no lucky breaks in penalties or turnovers to keep things even. So thats it.
UofU and Air Force. AFA has always given Utah problems. I'm not surprised at this game. Good job for pulling out a close one.
Next week. BYE(Thank goodness)

(Blue) Late, but hey.

San Diego, who knew you would put up such a fight? Lets just say that Last week's game performance defensively didn't exactly put me at ease for this weeks clash with TCU. The brightest spot was that our safety Johnson is starting to pick people, but that's about it.
Utah beat UNLV, no surprise. Nothing much to say there except that they didn't win by as much as I supposed they would.
Seems like there won't be much more to note until after the TCU game. Basically, this is the first of what I am considering the tell-tale games of the MW. The games between the three ranked teams. Honestly, I think we have a good chance of getting through victorious, but I recognize that any of the three could win out without any great stretch of the imagination.
PS, Looks like Collie is doing well with the Colts. Good for him.

(Red) Perseverance on the front range.

This is going to be a smaller post, I want to rewatch the game to get a little better feel. However, I watched pretty much the last quarter and a half and I hope we see that team all the time. Yes Blue was right, the Utes did play lackluster and if it were not for some picks the game would have been different. Same thing if Max Hall had not of thrown all the ints versus FSU. Turnovers are part of the game and RoJos picks were not your typical interceptions. It's not like he was just standing there and him thrown to him. He had to make plays on the ball. With Utahs lackluster effort they did put up 450 yards of total offense, while Terrance Cain threw for 250 yards, 2 TDs, and a 75% completion percentage. And after the 2nd half started Cain was 12/13, and that 1 incompletion was on a drop in the end zone by Aiona Key. So Cain played perfectly in the second half. He also ran for 71 yards. He has showing some very much Brian Johnson like traits in that second half. The key point of the game was right after CSU scores and they are up 17-3. Immediately Utah gets the kick off to around the 40 yard line on a good return. Play one Cain runs for about a 10 yard gain on a scramble. The next play Cain rolls to the left and hits Reed on a 50 yard td pass over the arms of a DB. Just a few plays later Robert Johnson gets his first pick when he doesn't fall for a play action pass to go deep. Right after that Utah goes on a 17 play 70 yard drive to tie the game. A lot of teams down 14 points would have gave up, this Utah team had a lot of fight and basically took over the game and beat down CSU in the last quarter and a half. Really outside of the 2nd quarter and the first half of the 3rd Utah played well. The first quarter they had 140 yards but only 3 points. Had a problem punching one in. But in the last part of the game they had no problems at all. Eddie Wide had 103 yards on 17 carries and between him, Cain, Shaky Smithson, and Sausan Shakerin the Utes will have a solid running game with out Matt Asiata. Cain is a great runner and can throw on the run as well. David Reed 140 yards receiving, some good runs as well. And Cain had his best day yet statistically and helping lead the team back for a win. The defense was good and bad throughout the day. They got to the QB and forced turnovers, they just let a guy run for 100 yards. Which will happen from time to time but something I'd like to see cleaned up a little bit. Yeah they were sloppy at times, thats to be expected off a bye week. But once they got everything together they weren't to be stopped. I figured CSU would fight with it being their homecoming and also like I stated, Steve Fairchild is a damn good coach. But like I predicted, the Utah athletes would win the day. And they did. Basically if the Utah team that played in the 2nd and first part of the 3rd shows up consistently they lose to the upper tier MWC teams. If the team that shows up that fought back. They can win this conference title. Developing consistency is now the key.

As for BYU vs UNLV I wasn't really able to see the game outside of a few highlights, but BYU did what they were supposed to. UNLV has given up it appears on the season and their coach. Hall didn't throw a pick, which is a first this season. I know BYU did struggle on occasion with the UNLV athletes, which is still the achilles heel of BYU.

Prediction and preview of Utah/UNLV to come later. I do think the Utah D will be the best Vegas has seen to this point though.

(Blue) Viva Las Vegas!

Things look grim for head coach of UNLV, Sanford. I think he'd better start exploring the job market. But things went well in the game for us. 611 total offense, double digit scores in all four quarters. Hall kept the ball to himself and people in blue (actually white.) Too bad UNLV gave up over 700 the week before against Nevada, but that's a different story. So pretty much what was expected. A couple of dark spots were the huge punt return that gave them a score and a 70 something yard pass play. So 14 of their points on two plays. But to counter that, we had some picks and our rush game was strong. Unga, Tonga, JJ Pili etc. High five to them. Next week against San Diego in California. I suspect that game will go much like this last one.

Now Utah, I think they played an average game(despite what Red might tell you) while Colorado played an above average game. It was up in Ft Collins and it was COLD. But hey, it gets cold here too so I am not buying that as an excuse. Granted, it was homecoming for the Rams, that probably helped them. But Utah looked a bit lack luster for me, and if it hadn't of been for some fortuitous picks, things could have looked really ugly. Next week, UNLV in Vegas. The U will win. Probably by more than 14. I would guess... 45 to 27. We'll see. Utah needs to stop dragging early as they have been doing, and to get a bit better on sustaining drives.

Interesting other news was the Air Force and TCU game. Interesting stuff.

(Red) Week 6 - Utah (3-1) vs. CSU (3-2) Preview

Utah is 4-0 under Coach Kyle Whittingham after bye weeks as head coach. I really do not expect that trend to change this year. Colorado State comes back home for their homecoming game after a tough loss (for the MWC as well) at the hands of perennial power... Idaho? They did lose 31-29 on the road. They gave up over 300 yards passing and over 100 yards receiving to 2 receivers. They also had a problem on third down, converting only 5-13 on the day while allowing Idaho to convert 50% of their third downs as well as a forth down. So they couldn't stay on the field when they needed and they couldn't get a stop when they needed. Not exactly a good day for the Rams.
If those stats hold true for the next game the Utes should do well. Utah right now is ranked #1 in the conference in total yards averaging over 430 yards a contest. Colorado St is giving up almost 350. CSUs run defense does seem rather stout at averaging about 2.8 yards a rush. However Utah is going to be the fastest team CSU has seen to this point, with a very mobile QB. I think the Utes may meet resistance rushing up the guy but I don't see them having any problem getting to the outside with Eddie Wide, Shaky Smithson, as well as T-Cain. I do see Terrence Cain having a big day through the air however because of the speed of the wide outs, David Reed and Jereme Brooks in particular. Cain is completing 60 percent of his passes on the season, and that is with a really bad Oregon game hurting his stats. So he is efficient with the ball, and he only has 4 picks up to this point. His favorite passes, the slant passes, should be there all day long. I do expect to have CSU game plan for this but I do think Utahs athletes are just to much for the CSU defensive backfield.
On defense Utah has the best third down defense in the country at about 19% conversion against them. CSU struggled with third downs last week against Idaho so I expect the strength of the Utah defense to capitalize on getting off the field and some 3 and outs. They are also starting to make plays with turnovers. They have something like 7 or 8 turnovers in the last 2 games. So the defense is stiffening and playing very well right now. The Utes are also leading the conference in pass efficiency defense. So even with the corners struggling with some routes the Utes have done a good job of getting to the QB and making them shorten their reads. CSUs QB Stucker has a 54% completion percentage so not a huge threat through the air, however he does have the capability to go deep from time to time. CSUs O line is the most experienced in the country so that is a big plus for them. I think the speed of the Utah rush has to get to them to really make Stucker flustered, and I do expect the Utes to make him beat them. They will eliminate the run, which they are doing a great job of right now.
Overall since it is homecoming I do think CSU puts up a fight and they don't want to lose 3 in a row and I expect it to be rather close because Steve Fairchild is a really good coach. But the athletes for Utah are just to good for CSU and Utah is gelling nicely in very positions.

Utah 31 CSU 17

(Blue) One step closer to the edge...

We beat the Aggies. That was good, but we would have lost to Utah, TCU, and a ton of other schools in the world. To keep things brief, there were good runs by Unga and plays by Pitta. Defensively, profited off of a few USU mistakes. But all in all, not so sharp. Hall keeps digging a hole with one hand while filling it with the other. Jacobson (best wide receiver)stretched himself out of a month playing without even touching the ball. Overall, a fairly grim outlook for we who have to play a fairly decent UNLV this week and, passing that, a TCU towards the end of the month that has been doing really well.
UofU, well nothing to say about them this week.
So there you have it, next week we will see if we can stumble ahead a bit further.

(Red) Back to winning... but at what cost?

The Utes started another winning streak this last Saturday after handling Louisville. Easily the most complete performance of the year for the guys in Crimson. First off the defense. The defense has been a little maligned this year after giving up some big plays to the first 3 opponents. The coaches took the defense back to basics and it excelled. Utah only gave up 80 yards on the ground, the week after giving up 200 vs Oregon. The only substantial rushing yards Louisville got was off their Qb and his scrambling. The front 7 shut down the run all day long. In the pass game they gave up 180 yards. I'll take that any day of the week. The DBs are struggling a little bit right now, they are still developing but they are making progress. They have the speed to run with any wideout in the country, now they need to develop their ball skills. So often they are stride for stride with the receiver but they never look back to find the ball. I know this is a Coach Whitt philosophy, and traditionally that has improved as the year has progressed in the past. I expect that to be the case this season. The safeties are just studs. Robert Johnson is without a doubt the best safety in the league. He is always around the ball and making plays. This game he recovered a fumble by throwing it in the field of play so it could be recovered by his teammate, very similar to what happens in basketball when someone saves the ball. And the linebackers are playing awesome right now too. Sly is always in the back field, and Kepa Giason and Mike Wright teamed up on a play where Kepa tipped a pass in the air and Wright picked it off deep in Louisville territory. The front 4 were plugging holes and pressuring the QB all game. Koa Misi is 100% and it shows. He was running down running backs and wide outs all game long when they tired to run laterally. He caused the fumble that RoJo recovered by chasing down a wide out on a sweep and stripping the ball. He also has some slobber knocking hits. The one negative on the line is the loss of Lei Talamaiveo. He broke a bone in his leg and could be done for the year, that definitely hurts the depth. The Dline is deep though so i'm not all that worried.

Special teams look to be stabilized. Luke Mathews is going great fielding punts, his only problems were last game was he didn't follow blocks on returns when he could have busted off some big ones if he would have. So frustrating watching that. Our Punter Sean Sellwood is a stud. Very Louie Sakoda like with his punting. He kicked some bombs in this game. Like him a lot. Blocked a field goal to open the game, which swung the momentum of the game, that is now 3 blocked kicks this year (2 punts, 1 fg), and we were getting close to punts all game long. And for FG kicking, looks like Joe Phillips has grabbed that job. He kicked a great 48 yarder before half that was big.

Offense was explosive but hit or miss. They opened up the game with a 3 and out. But after the blocked FG they marched 80 yards for a TD on a Matt Asiata 24 yard TD run. After the RoJo fumble recovery Cain hit Reed on a 50 yard TD pass just a few plays later. Cain actually started the game 9/9 and was very effective. Overall for the game Cain was 17/22 for 202 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. He really let the game come to him and he played great. The rushing game was also very good, even when Asiata went down. Eddie Wide ran for 120+ yards on 19 carries. He averaged almost 7 yards a carry. He ran very good out of what Utah called the "Asiata Formation". Thats just a direct snap play, and he ran very well. When I was at the game it didn't look like he was getting much on most carries but rewatching the game he was getting good chunks of yards every time he touched the ball. He may have lost yards only a few times. Cain ran the ball very nicely too, mostly on designed runs. But he ran great and gave the defense a lot of problems since they had to defend him running as well. I will address the new running back situation in a different post. The wide receivers played so much better in this game. They redeemed themselves after a bad Oregon game. Aiona Key got into the action a little more which is good. David Reed was a stud as always. Jereme Brooks had a great 3rd and 15 play that got the Utes a TD after receiving a swing pass from Cain and making some tacklers miss.

Play calling was very good in this game. I can see Dave Schramm (Offensive Coordinator) evolve as a play caller. He simplified things for Cain a little bit to help him develop and Cain flourished. I'd still like to see the wide outs get some more running plays on sweeps and such, but I figure that is still to come.

Overall a very pleasing game (minus some injuries).
The question is was the game to costly with some season ending injuries? It is part of the game, and I will analyze the impact of the Asiata injury in a different post.
Next week : BYE


Colorado St vs BYU - I was not able to watch this game at all so I'm going off statistics and some second hand information. I know BYU jumped out to an early lead due to a lot of errors on CSU. A great blocked punt really helped. Max Hall did throw 2 interceptions. I do think that is 15 interceptions he has thrown since last years Utah game. 15 picks in 6 games is a cause for concern. BYU did score though, there is never question if they are going to score. One stat that is startling was 117 yards of penalties. The combo of penalties and turnovers are a concern. They penalties are something that can be fixed. The defense also gave up over 400 yards of offense to CSU. Now I don't know how those yards were obtained but those are a lot of yards to a non Spread offense team. And 370 of those yards were through the air. BYU needs to fix that quick, just like the turnovers, because some of these MWC teams can move the ball. Namely TCU and Utah. I don't expect BYU to lose to the second tier MWC teams but they need to work on those issues to be competitive with TCU and to beat Utah. Again my opinion on the game is kind of weak because I didn't see it but the stats weren't great. But hey a win is a win and that's all that counts. And for that BYU and Utah are both 3-1. Right where I expected both teams to be at this point. I do expect a lot of improvement from both teams over the coming weeks.
Next Game USU-
I expect BYU to win this game pretty easily. I do think USU will give them a scare for a while but BYU will score a lot of points on them. USU has a good back that will give BYU some problems and Gary Andersen is a genius and will come up with some looks to confuse Max Hall, but like in the Utah/USU game USU doesn't have the horses yet to win, but it may be interesting for a while until BYU pulls away.
45-21 BYU

(Blue) Where do we go from here?

Well,
Lets review. Colorado State lost. Louisville lost. This isn't really surprising for those of us who pay attention to these things. But from what my associate Red tells me, Asiata tore his ACL and for all intensive purposes has just died(College football speaking). That sucks for them. He was just barely told last week that he was the leading rusher in the MW and now... not so much. But it's a win. Utah controlled and that's good, showed some cohesiveness that they were needing, but lets see how well they adjust their offense to include Eddie Wide. He looked good from his stats, so we'll see.



Our guys... Defense was good but kind of inconsistent. Liked the blocked kick. I also liked the turnovers that were generated. However, we have a big soft underbelly and people pass short up the middle with a will against us. And Logon, one of our corners, does some amazing stuff for his size, but gets regularly worked on the deep ball. What bothers me most about that situation is that he is a really obvious desperate looking pass coverage guy for the long throws so he always gets caught for pass interference. Which sucks. But we had some STELLAR hits(often after several missed tackles by us :( ). Lastly looks like Johnson is back and doing his job well, so that is key.

Other side of the ball. *sigh. Hall, you're fired. I know, I know, you are a good design quarterback, and when everything is going great with your scheme and the opposing defense is spread out and not that fast, you do great. But lets not forget one key element to good quarterbacking: you're not supposed to throw the the other team. Sorry, that's just how foot ball is. But aside from his customary picks, I liked to see some successful scramble. That is great. Unga was monstrous, and good. Pitta was really good. Offensively, things went ok, but not quite running at optimum.

End result of these games is that we both go will go on to MW play, probably dominating but with question marks for TCU and possibly UNLV. We will both get better, and I anticipate some close games for the MW Championship. Too bad that's all we have to live for. Just for the record: I HATE Boise State. Red can extrapolate more of that probably. Ask him.

Now, just for giggles, I couldn't find anything online suitably clever to answer Red's little BYU poster slight (although I admit that I have always found the Salt Flat picture series kinda gay looking) so I went ahead and made a few of my own. I want you to vote for your fave. These pics are courtesy of "The Oregonian" a paper there that ran these pics with glee.

(Red) A funny pic from Utefans.net..

Sorry to my Cougar friends. But this made me laugh. Thought I would share

(Red) The end of the streak... and the end of perfection...

November 2007, that was when the Utes lost their last game. Since then it has been a 16 game winning streak for the boys in Crimson. The Oregon Ducks ended that streak this weekend. At the time I was very discouraged, border line depressed, especially at the point the Utes were down 28-10 in the third quarter. Before we knew it however the score was 28-24 after some great defensive plays and the offense getting into a rhythm.  A couple late interceptions sealed the deal and the Utes could never over come the hole they dug themselves into.
The game started out very ominously when Oregon returns a punt for a touchdown after the first Utah possession. For the remaining of the half the Utes were rather inept when it came to moving the ball. I have to blame this on a couple factors. First off, Matt Asiata was shaken up from the previous week with a bad shoulder. From the get go it was rather evident that Asiata was very hesitant when taking the ball and hitting the hole. So when it was 1st and 10 the running game started off very weak and for the first half the Utes were always in a 2nd or 3rd and long type scenarios. It also was showing with the play calling that Offensive Coordinator Dave Schramm was trying to protect Matt as well by putting much more responsibility on Terrence Cain, our starting quarterback, who was starting in his 3rd D1a game. Cain started out the game 3/4 and it was down hill from there for the rest of the first half. He finished the half some bad like 6/18 or something like that. The wide receivers were also very disappointing, they couldn't get separation from defenders and had some dropped balls that really hurt drives. Other than the Utes returned punt they gave up, special teams had some big plays. Namely Aiona Key, kick blocking expert, blocked a punt and gave the Utes the ball on the Oregon 19 yard line. On the ensuing play Cain rushed in from the 19 for a touchdown on an awesome read option play to tie the game at 7. That would be the end of the scoring for the half for the Utes. For the next seven possessions the Utes went three and out and for a couple reasons as started before (inept running game, bad wide out play, some bad play calling). The defense was rather disappointing in the first half, Oregon didn't really do a great job putting a sustained drive together, but where the problem was, was in big plays. On the second scoring drive for the Ducks the Utes allowed about a 60 yard pass down to the 8 yard line on busted coverage of a corner lined up wrong. These plays have happened over the first 3 games of the season and they appear to be fixable, the inexperience at the corner position is showing up early and I do expect improvement as the season progresses. The real problem was at the end of the second half when the Utes recovered a muffed punt deep in Oregon territory. The most painful part of the drive was when we moved it to the 2 yard line with 2 seconds remaining in the half and the Utes had a choice for a field goal or to go for it. I was all for going for it because it would have cut it to 21-14 and the Utes would have all the momentum. Give it to Asiata and let him bulldoze his way in or run an option. No they ran some fade pattern to Reed in the corner of the end zone. Low percentage, bad play and it was incomplete.
The second half the offense finally got moving more. Asiata was running with more authority. The wide outs were making plays. And the defense was forcing turnovers. Utah scored 17 points in the third quarter, both offensively and defensively. And there for a while it looked like they were going to pull out number 17 in a row. With the score 28-24 they were driving when Cain was picked off on a bad throw. The d held Oregon to a field goal. At 31-24 the Utes were driving again and at the Oregon 40 yard line when Cain barley missed a wide out on a deep route that turned out to be picked off, ending the threat. Robert Johnson was a stud in the second half. 1 pick in the endzone, a fumble recovery for a td. He finally showed up after being rather quiet the first 2 and 1/2 games.
In summary of the Oregon game. We lost. Cut and dry the Utes did not deserve to win. That being said. If the Utes convert on that goal line play at the end of half who know what could have happened. The Utes had 7 straight 3 and outs in the first half. Another scoring opportunity in the first half when Cain missed Brooks for a TD by under throwing him, no points on that drive. And those 2 late INTs just sealed the deal. With all the bad play the Utes were within 4 points in the fourth and could have won it. But a loss we will take. It can be a growing experience for this team, in particular our 2 new coordinators and our new offensive personnel. And for the experienced members of the team it can renew their hunger to win, it can remind them what is required to win. If the Utes do not correct these issues they will lose 2+ more games easy. The point here is that issues the Utes have are correctable. And this team has fight. It could have gave up when down 18 points on the road in a rowdy Autzen Stadium. But they didn't they fought. They got close. That shows up with Cains total numbers, they weren't impressive at all but he did recover pretty well with completing 20-41 balls and almost 200 yards and a TD on a great play that had broken down. Not to mention the 70 yards rushing and the TD. Cain was actually a one man band on offense for much the game (He was responsible for around 270 of the 300 yards the Ute put up). Inconsistent at times, but he's still got the potential to be a great one at the U.Who knows, with more experience they win that game. That is something I'm excited to see develop as the season continues.

We all want our teams to go undefeated, I have been extremely fortuniate to be a part of 2 undefeated seasons (2004/2008) and BCS runs, but the truth is to go undefeated is very difficult and you need to have a lot of things go your way. Last year the Utes had those things go their way, this year the inexperience is not allowing for those things to break the Utes direction. It has been an awesome 22 months of winning, now it is time to refocus and start another winning streak starting Saturday against Louisville (preview coming later in the week).

As for reaction to what happened in Provo. I know I'm going to sound like a douche saying this but I saw it coming, maybe not to the extent it happened.  But I told my counterpart Blue throughout the week that if FSU was to win they would have to pressure Hall, and their speed was going to be a problem. I predicted it in the summer a FSU win over BYU. I said in another blog BYUs defense has yet to be tested. OU didn't attack the weakness of BYU and Tulane just had no shot. That weakness is speed. FSU has always had speed on both sides of the ball. And in the highlights I caught it was obvious BYU was not ready for it. Some of the Hall picks were with corners breaking on the ball and cutting off the route. The FSU offense ran over, threw, under, where ever it wanted. That is BYUs weakness, speed. It creates pressure on Hall and he turns the ball over. On defense they just are not athletic enough currently to keep up with people in space. Now I would have to watch the game thoroughly to get a better read on the game. But I could guess the coaches did the players a massive disservice by not adjusting properly. That has been the problem with the Y for the last couple years. People have caught on to what they do and the Y coaches are yet to adjust, whether in games or during the week they are convinced it is execution. BYU executes as good as any team out there, so I would say if that is the problem, it's not a huge one. The problem is they are slow. BYU will still win 9 or 10 games, they just need some more horses. I'll tell you what at this point, combine the Utah athletes and mentality with the precision of the Cougs, scary team it would be.

So here we are both teams 2-1. BYU ranked 19th, Utah unranked (although really close in the coaches poll). It is gut check time for both teams. How do they respond? That shows a lot in terms of character.
Right now we are riding TCUs coattails for a potential BCS bid. But Blue did bring up an interesting quandary. Do we root for TCU to go unbeaten and leapfrog Boise St. or do we want our own teams to win the title. As a selfish Ute fan I want the title. It is a 4 year cycle of evaluation for the BCS to see if they add another conference, thus allowing more money for the league. I just don't see the WAC competing with the MWC just based off of Boise St. The rest of the league is horrible. I'd say also BSU is 4th or 5th in the MWC if they played in our conference. So for now we just sit, wait, and watch to see how things pan out.

(Blue) When the S@#$ hits the fan...

Today the sun arose, and thus began the dawn of our discontent. Yesterday was a dark day all over the Wasatch front and frankly, I think the weather reflected the mood after the games. Which games? The UofU/Oregon and the BYU/FSU games of course. Lets just say that I disliked FSU before, and now I really can't stand them. For all that, the blame for this terrible loss falls squarely on the shoulders of BYU. But I guess I shouldn't be surprised, this seems to be SOP for BYU, get within touching distance of something great, than screw it up royal.

Lets review: Week one, amazing victory against #3 ranked OSU. Nobody gave us a chance, but we got it. Than a slow start against Tulane, but wailed on them for a big win. Now, the best part about all of this was that both these games were on ESPN and FOR ONCE there was a lot of positive talk nationally about us. Perhaps it was the Cinderella story feel to it that people seem to enjoy, perhaps we were coasting on some hard won conference respect the Utes gained last year. Either way, we were finally in a position to beak into the top five nationally for the first time in like, forever. Probably the nineties. Anyway, then what happens? We come home(where we are usually good), and get CREAMED by FSU. Now the referees REALLY didn't help, but I'd say that was the least of our troubles. Biggest issues: Hall is crap(sorry man, I am sure you are a nice guy, but I have never been all that for you since the beginning and you constantly prove my disapproval right) with 3 interceptions and general ineptitude by being flustered. Our defense, which has been really tough last two games, just couldn't do anything against their O line and no cover ability. That let them do pretty much whatever they wanted. And finally, our kicking game sucks. Seriously. We pretty much gave them two first downs every time we kicked it off.

A separate issue I have with BYU is the following: FUMBLES. Now look, I played one year of football when I was like 11. But one thing I learned, and I suppose everybody else who plays also learns. TWO HANDS ON THE BALL! Seriously, I had the misfortune of witnessing our game personally, and I predicted accurately almost every one of our turnovers just by how reckless and sloppy the play before was going. So yeah.

As for the Utes, that was lame. I don't like Oregon. And the fact that the boys in red could have pulled it out and then crapped out is really lame. I saw a few highlights and it seemed that turnovers equally toasted both of us. Sorry guys, seems like the streak is over. But I think that is probably a good thing. There is enough going on in players heads already that that kind of extra pressure can't do anything positive (much like our retarded theme last year- Perfection).

So what does this mean? Basically it means that for our conference, TCU is the last hope. And for either the Red or the Blue to get the conference (which is pretty much all we have to live for at this point) we have to knock them off. So I'm torn. Do I want to drag TCU down to our level so we can win the conference? or do I want them to beat us so the MW(Mountain West) can at least make a respectable national showing? I can't decide, but the way we are playing, it probably doesn't matter what I want.

The thing that burns me worse of all is that all of those critics who say that all of this other conferences are so much inherently better: Pac 10, Big 12, ACC, etc) and that the MW can't hack it; well now they feel completely justified in their opinions. That really bites, because I know it's all BS, but ours is a difficult position to defend when we have a weekend like this.

So in reflection, if we were to look at the MW as a team, these two games were indicative of how that team is fairing. There is great great potential, and we should be putting touchdowns on the board, but on fortunately, we choke and give up a big turnover. Maybe the MW could be rolling. Should be. But we just threw a pick and had it run back on us for a multi-million dollar touch down. (for those of your that aren't sharp, that is reflective of the good bowl money we won't be seeing now)

(Red) Before I get to a game blog...

I need to address something... these uniforms that Oregon wore could possibly be the most awful uniforms I've ever seen. They have some sharp looking stuff... but really? Very poor effort on the uni front.

They may even be worse than...

... even my blue friend was embarrassed by these.

Welcome - from the Red Side!

This blog is going to be composed by 2 fans (and students) of 2 rival schools, Utah and BYU. We will be doing opinionated break downs of each schools respective match up, their own match ups, and maybe even random match ups throughout the country. So yes, this is a college football blog that will have differing opinions on a lot and similar opinions on maybe a few. There is one thing we can agree on for sure, we are both in it together for the respect of the Mountain West Conference. This is a really cheesy line but, we win together and we lose together. I hope who ever sees and reads this blog enjoys it, spreads it, contributes to it, and helps us improve it. We love our teams and we want to share that.
So...
Go Utes!
and on the behalf of the blue side... Go Cougars!