(Red) Week 1 review / Week 2 preview

Pitt - 24

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.

(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) 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).