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.
