Utes @ Lobos: Highlights / Lowlights

Definitely not the most enjoyable game to watch. I was quite hoarse on Sunday. Nevertheless, we got the "W", and it was enough to move us up to #8 in the BCS poll -- which is awesome.

Highlights:

• Aiona Key blocking the early UNM field goal. I think a lot of people maybe forgot about this spectacular play (which, btw, probably saved us from an overtime situation), but this kid is awesome! He timed his jump perfectly, and he can really get up there. He's got the highest vertical leap on the team. What a stud!
• Louie Sakoda. It will be a sad day in Ute-ville when he graduates. I'm pretty sure we would be somewhere around 6-3 if it weren't for him. Pinning the Lobos about an inch from the goal line -- you just can't punt better than that.
• The hook and lateral on our one TD of the game. I love trick plays -- and, note-to-ludwig, when you change it up every now and then, it usually works!
• Making Rodney Furgussen a non-factor.

Lowlights:

• The O-Line. Granted, UNM blitzed on nearly every snap, and that can wear down an offensive line pretty quick, but come on guys. Johnson gets blamed for making poor choices with the ball, but you've gotta give him some time to make his reads.
• Throwing an INT in the endzone. We let our most productive drive of the game end in a turnover. SO frustrating!! (incidentally, that seems to happen to me quite often on the PlayStation.)
• Where was the option?! We finally started running it against CSU, and it was excellent! This team executes the option (which, IMO, is one of the hardest plays for a defense to sniff out and stop) as good as any team in the NCAA. I only saw us use it ONCE against New Mexico. And in case you were wondering, it got us about 15 yards. What the heck?!
• We did a great job stopping Furgussen, but their Freshman quarterback ran all over us. We just couldn't stop that kid. He was fast. He was hard to tackle. We didn't have an answer. Why does this make me nervous? Because Andy Dalton (TCU's QB) is even better at that game. Yikes.
• There's something I just REALLY didn't get. We returned a punt (or kickoff maybe?) to about the 35 yard line. A couple flags come in. The refs have one of there little ref meetings (which always seem to take longer than I think they should), and then the lead official steps up to call out the penalties. "There are fouls against both teams", he says. "Illegal block in the back on the return team, and a dead-ball personal foul on the kicking team". So I'm thinking, "Ok, it could be worse. They'll back us up 10 yards for the block in the back, and then they'll give us 15 yards for the personal foul." Not so. His little ref buddy comes running over and whispers in his ear, then he comes back on the mic and says, "Correction, both fouls are against the RETURN team." WHAT?! You would have thought his would be clarified during their 5-minute meeting. But then, as if to pour salt in the wound, we get marched back to the 5 YARD LINE! Since when was a block in the back a 15 yarder? Very irritating. End of soap box.

What were your highlights and lowlights?