Utah - 27
The opener for the Utes went really the way I expected it to go in most cases. Pitt was not able to run the ball on the defensive line of the U. Brandon Burton shut down on of the best wide outs in the country. The Ute defense was dominate. Sure they missed a few assignments but that is correctable stuff so I'm not worried about the production of the defense. It could possibly be the best in years.
The offense was sharp, for the most part. Turnovers and dumb penalties killed any other scoring opportunities. With Wynn, Wide, and Asiata in the backfield this offense is going to be potent and the wide outs have some fire power as well. As long as the Utes don't beat themselves they will be in a good position. And Jordan Wynn put them in many of those against Pitt. Pitt had a hard time defending the wide outs because they were constantly matched up on linebackers and was open. The offensive game plan was solid and it attached Pitt where they were weak, the secondary.
Special teams have a lot work to do. A blocked punt and a muffed punt. Mistakes like that will cost you a game. And lucky for the U they made a lot of mistakes and still won. They really dominated the game the score just didn't show it. Good win the first week to propel the U into the season.
Week 2 v UNLV
This game is simple. Run the ball. Asiata and Wide should get over 100 yards a piece in this game. UNLV showed a weak run D against Wisconsin last week and they should take advantage of this. Once the run gets established Wynn/Cain will be able to pick them apart in the secondary. Wynn is a game time decision to play because of a strained thumb he sustained in the Pitt game. So hopefully the last 9 days have been enough to get it healed. If not Terrance Cain is more than capable to step in and be able to produce.
Defensively they just need to stick Brandon Burton on Phillip Payne and then get penetration on the defensive line. Vegas has 2 weapons, Phillip Payne at wide receiver and their scrambling QB Omar Clayton. They shut down that combo it should be a cake walk.
Utah 45
UNLV 17
BYU 23
Wash 17
Very good win for BYU to start the season. I was surprised by how well the young guys played for BYU. However the 2 QB system will not work week in and out. They need to find the guy soon. BYUs offense, as of now, is mediocre at best. The WR and RB cores are weak and they did not wow me at all. They just don't have many weapons on the field right now. However they did make enough plays to beat an overrated Washington team. I kinda figured BYU would score about 20ish points against them because Washington's D is just not very good. But Washington's offense struggled all day. I would say mostly because of BYU special teams pinning them within their own 10 on 3+ occasions. Of course this was helped out by Washington's really bad special teams decisions. Overall BYU still has a long way to go but they got off on the right foot.
BYU v Air Force
To be honest with you this is the year Air Force should win vs BYU. It's at AFA, BYU is rebuilding, and AFA is tough to play early. But BYU has their number. Bronco Mendenhall is undefeated against AFA. I think BYU can score some points on them but AFA is a very opportunistic defense and likes to force turnovers. I think BYU turns it over a time or two. I think BYU could struggle with the option attack because they have so many young defenders and this is will be the first time they see it in live action, so I think AFA will put points on the board. However with that said until AFA beats BYU I have to pick BYU. I have picked AFA for about 3 or 4 years now. I think as of now AFA is a better 'team' since they have experience, but BYU has their number.
BYU 21
AFA 20
... sorry for the brief post... I'm tired.
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