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Friday, September 18, 2009

The Utes So Far

I have to say that I have been a little uncomfortable during both of our games so far. In the USU game, the second half was much better, but the SJSU game really could have been a disaster. Then again, it also could have been a blow out. We made some mistakes that cost us points, and I think it was more a case of us shooting ourselves in the foot than SJSU outplaying us. It's hard to guage this year's team based on the two games we've seen so far, but I have three areas of concern:
  1. Turnovers. 3 against Utah State and 2 against SJSU (actually three if you count turning the ball over on downs -- which I do.) I think we need to really focus on this. We have to take care of the ball. You can get away with it against lesser WAC opponents, but if we don't get this fixed, teams like Oregon, TCU, and BYU (heck, maybe even AFA or CSU) will make us pay.
  2. Pass coverage. We gave up a big pass play to USU, and a few of them to SJSU. Fortunately Oregon's strength is not the passing game, but that doesn't mean they can't burn us there. We have to do a better job keeping up witht he WR's. And it's not just the corners' responsibility. The pass rush has been pretty unimpressive thus far, and I am a believer in the addage "The key to a good secondary is a great pass rush".
  3. Goal line offense. We've been stood up inside the one yard line twice in as many games. I really have to question the play calling: 1st down -- Asiata direct snap. 2nd down -- Asiata direct snap. 3rd down -- Asiata direct snap. 4th down -- you guessed it, Asiata direct snap. We did the same thing 2 weeks in a row, and I have to say, it's about as predictable as Gary Crowton. We need to try somehting else, because if USU and SJSU can stop us, it's obviously not working.

Nevertheless, I don't want this post to sound negative. We have seen some good things -- actually some great things -- so far as well. I really like Cain, and he is going to be an excellent QB. I loved seeing him take off and run -- boy can move! Asiata has been a great run threat (and I was impressed with backups Wide and Shakerin as well). Reed and Brooks are huge playmakers and fun to watch. Defensively, I think our linebacking corps has been great, not really allowing much on the ground (aside from the flukey play by USU). Our new punter seems to be really solid.

Well I'm rambling. Vote here -- what are your thoughts on the Utah vs. Oregon game?

My prediction? Utah 34, Oregon 21

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Just how good is BYU anyway?

Alright – I mentioned that I had more to say on the BYU – OU game, so here it comes.

First of all, I have to give credit where credit is due. I was extremely surprised and actually impressed with how well BYU play Oklahoma in the first half. I expected Oklahoma to be sitting on a 3 touchdown lead at half time. I think you can attribute it to a few things:
  • Oklahoma did an absolutely TERRIBLE job of rebuilding their offensive line. They were penalized over and over and over for holding, false starts, etc. Bradford had no protection whatsoever, and that really changed the whole dynamic of OU’s offense.
  • Play calling. Can someone tell me why OU insisted on running the ball? I understand it’s important to establish the run in order to open things up for the passing game, but really? When you’ve got Sam Bradford slinging the ball, capable receivers, and BYU’s secondary, it should be a no-brainer!
  • BYU’s defense has improved significantly. Their pass rush was great, and they had constant pressure on the QB (which eventually led to his injury).

So, in my opinion, those are the reasons the score was so close at halftime. Now let’s talk about the second half. The obvious difference is that Oklahoma is now playing without their best player. Even then, BYU couldn’t do much. The OU defense kept them in check, while the OU offense hardly did anything. Finally Oklahoma put together a pretty good drive. They got all the way down to the 2 yard line. They didn’t get in on 1st and goal. They didn’t get in on 2nd and goal. They didn’t get in on 3rd and goal. And so, of course, they line up on 4th and goal, as anyone would. Except they had a freshman QB playing in basically his first game since high school. He let the play clock expire. Would Sam Bradford have let that happen? I guarantee you, he would not. Thus, OU was backed up 5 yards and opted to kick a field goal rather than risk coming up empty. Again, I have to disagree with the coaching decision. Listen up, Bob Stoops. You’re on BYU’s 5 yard line, you have the lead, and the game is nearing it’s end. If you go for the TD on 4th down, you have the opportunity to basically put the game out of reach. If you come up empty on 4th, BYU gets the ball – on their own 5 yard line. And your defense has been able to stifle every drive BYU has put together so far in this game. They’ve picked off Max Hall twice, and gotten pressure on him numerous times. You would be in perfect position to score a safety, which also gives you the ball back. Why not trust your defense?

But even then, OU was still not down and out. BYU put together a very impressive drive that led to a touchdown with about 2 and a half minutes left in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Mitch Payne boots the ball out of bounds, giving OU the ball on their own 40. They’re down by one point, so all they need is a field goal. That means they have 2 and a half minutes to move the ball about 30 yards. Did they accomplish that? Oh yes, they did. Except they tried to get just a little closer. And then, that magnificent OU offensive line had yet another penalty that moved them back. With time running out, they had to try the long long field goal. 54 yards is a tall order for any college kicker. They missed it. BYU wins.

So I ask again, just how good is BYU? If not for that one penalty at the end, that field goal is probably good. Have the Cougars really fixed the problems that plagued them against TCU, Utah, and Arizona last year? I submit that they have not. If you could pin-point BYU’s two biggest weaknesses last year, what would you say? I’d say this:

  • Max Hall: Sure, he’s an extremely accurate QB… when he has all day. And in most of their games last year, he did have all day. But the truth is that any team who consistently put pressure on him, beat him. He was sacked, picked off, he fumbled, made bad reads, you name it. And what I saw on Saturday against Oklahoma was the same old Max Hall. Every time OU got pressure on him, he threw it up for grabs. He got picked twice, but it could have easily been 4 or 5. I also saw him try to squeeze it into triple coverage a couple times. I really don’t think he’s any better than last year. The difference? This year he doesn’t have a veteran O-Line to protect him. Thus, the key to beating BYU this year will once again be getting pressure on Maxie.
  • Slow secondary: This was the other major criticism made against BYU last year. Because their DB’s were considerably slower than most teams’ WR’s, they were forced (or rather, coached) to play 10 yards off the receivers at scrimmage. This left the receivers wide open on short, underneath routes which a lot of times went for big yardage after the catch. Are they any better this year? I really don’t know. But I doubt it. Since OU barely threw the ball at all, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

I’d just like to finish up by saying that I agree with coach Whittingham’s opinion of the polls. He thinks that any poll taken before 4 or 5 games have been played is completely meaningless. BYU beat #3, Oklahoma. So does that mean that BYU deserves to be in the Top 10, or does it mean that OU never did deserve such a lofty ranking. I’m inclined to think the latter. Time will tell.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

College Football Kickoff Weekend

College football is finally here! After 8 months of anticipation and speculation, the season has finally begun.

The Utah game was about what I expected it to be. It was sloppy at times, but overall I saw good things. Terrance Cain appears to be a very capable QB, and I think he will improve as the season goes on. The play calling was conservative by design. It was meant to make Cain feel comfortable. I also think it was a smart move -- Why open up the playbook in the season opener when you don't need to? With tougher games coming up down the road, the coaches knew that a conservative game plan was the way to go.
The MWC made a lot of noise during the off-season. We are trying to gain respect and work our way towards inclusion in the BCS. We have several opportunites to make our case stronger this season. Here are the games that feature MWC teams vs BCS opponents:


BYU has already shaken things up with their win over Oklahoma last night (I have more to say on this game... later). TCU has a chance to make a statement against the ACC with games against Virginia and Clemson. Utah takes on Oregon, the only team that looks to challenge USC for the PAC-10 this year. Wyoming takes on Texas, who many have projected to play in the NC game. I think that if the MWC wants to be taken seriously, we need to win at least two-thirds of these games. That means that it can't just be Utah, TCU, and BYU. Some other MWC teams will have to start pulling their weight.

College football is one of my favorite times of the year, and I look forward to another great season of Utah Utes football!