There isn't a strong enough sample size to fine tune an individual team or to guide the management of an individual game, but stats have shown that a lot of conventional football wisdom like time of possession and stacking up first downs are absolute garbage. I think statistics have changed the approach to the game in that while turnovers have always been a big part of the game, they are even more emphasized, and there is a greater recognition of the importance of creating and preventing big/explosive plays.
I like Sitake's thinking, but I would say unlimited substitution is what keeps analytics from having the same impact on football that it has on baseball, basketball and soccer. When the college game went to two-platoon football for the 1964 season, it marked the biggest fundamental change in the rules since the forward pass.
Where analtyics absolutely has its place is with score, down-distance and time remaining. It's becoming more clear that there are right things to do and wrong things to do in certain spots. The problem football has with the limited sample size Sitake mentioned, is that people get way too caught up in the mindset of, "if it worked, it must've been right." That's total bull. Extreme case in point: You score a TD as time has expired to tie the game, but instead of kicking the PAT, you go for two. Even if you make it, it's the absolute wrong thing to do. Conversely, if the PAT is blocked, you cannot say that kicking the PAT was the wrong thing to do and that you should've gone for 2. (On a related note, I'm still burned up at how we approached the end of the Arizona game in 2013).
I think as analytics becomes more pronounced in the college game, you'll see more coaches going for it on fourth down, which totally changes how you approach third down. Example: First quarter, no score, you've got an average FG kicker and you've got 3rd and 7 from the opponents' 39. The question isn't necessarily what I've got to do to get the first down, but what I'm going to do on fourth down, because I'm only going to convert this 1 in 3 times. I would be willing to bet that coaches don't run as much as they should here.
From ESPN:
Pac-12's South Division set to overtake North
- Utah? It might have the best lines in the conference on both sides of the ball, as well as the best running back in Devontae Booker. The Utes might be the most undervalued team in the Pac-12.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Couple of guys joining or potentially joining the team for the fall: http://www.sltrib.com/home/2111894-1...uey?fullpage=1
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
This article is 5 months old. Is there a new update on any of these guys?
EDIT: Okay, I see the confusion now. On Twitter, Piper announces that Huey has enrolled and joined the team, but then links to this old article. Anytime a JC kid manages to enroll is a time for some celebration.
Last edited by Dwight Schr-Ute; 06-29-2015 at 01:59 PM.
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Dominique Hatfield is currently in the SL County jail on an aggravated robbery arrest. Booked today.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
SI.com. What is your team's brand?
http://www.si.com/college-football/2015/07/01/college-football-teams-brand?page=
Utah
The brand: No matter who wins the game, you’re going to be sore for a while after playing the Utes.
What it should be: Coach Kyle Whittingham has created a great defensive identity for his program going into year five in the Pac-12. Utah usually has a great defensive line that severely limits opponents. The offensive identity is a different story. Since Andy Ludwig left after the 2008 season, seven different people have held either the title of offensive coordinator or co-coordinator for the Utes. The current task falls to quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick—who has been with Whittingham since ’05 and is in his second stint as a co-coordinator—and offensive line coach Jim Harding.
Get hyped!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WNvfb2XNlDU
I'd like to think with Harding and A-Rod shoring up the morale issues on offense, maybe we'll see better QB play and a better throw game. Kendal Thompson clearly had previous knee damage and was an ACL looking for a place to happen, based on the play he got injured vs Oregon. It seems to me that a 2-QB system becomes possible with two reasonably talented seniors.
Kenric Young will be improved, and hopefully Scott and Patrick are healthy. McClellon seems to have broken through, and he's a jet, but so small, and since he was a 2 at CB on our road trip to Tempe last year, I have to think he may get flipped back over to defense, unless the case against Domo falls apart, which doesn't seem likely. (If it gets knocked down to a misdemeanor on a "he said / he said", does he play at Utah ever again? Doubtful, but who knows.)
If the rest of the offense makes improvement, Poole could be better than he's appeared, so far, if something happens with Booker. I might work out. If you'd told me we were going to go 9-4 last year, I wouldn't have bought that stock.
ESPN has a Football Power Index which ranks teams on a point system above and below the hypothetical average team. http://espn.go.com/college-football/...cs/teamratings
Utah ranks 36, below:Oregon (7), UCLA (11), USC (12), Stanford (16) ASU (20), Arizona (27) and Cal (35) and ahead of UW (53), WSU (59), CU (67) and OrSt (80). Other schools of interest: Michigan (33), Utah State (58) and Fresno St. (107). BYU comes in at 46 and Boise St. at 25.
Utah has a strength of schedule at 15 compared with UCLA at 27, Michigan at 44, BYU at 60 and Boise St. at 116.
They have Utah's W/L pegged at 6.5/5.6.
I think many fans will look at this and be surprised at the low win total. For me, the season breaks down like this. The chances of Utah winning fewer than 6 regular season games are about the same as the chances of the Utes winning 10 or more. I give them each a 5% chance of happening. I see there being about a 20% chance that the Utes win 6 or 9, a 30% chance that they win 7 and a 25% chance that they win 8.
Mich. W 70%
USU W 75%
@Frsno W 90%
@Ore. L (15% win)
Cal W 60%
ASU L (40% win)
@USC L (35% win)
OrSt. W 75%
@UW W 55%
@UA L (35% win)
UCLA W 55%
CU W 70%
In news that will come as a surprise to nobody, Hatfield officially suspended indefinitely by Whittingham.
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
So I said to David Eckstein, "You promised me, Eckstein, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" David Eckstein replied, "Because my little legs had gotten tired, and you were carrying me." And I looked down and saw that I was still carrying David Eckstein.
--fjm.com
My guess is that the lawyers are telling Whit that there is some significant chance that the charges will be reduced to a misdemeanor. I think KW is doing the kid a huge favor by only suspending him. My guess is that this will allow him to continue to be on scholarship and attend school while the legal issues unfold. Suspending him precludes any involvement in summer conditioning or using any of the athletic facilities. I have no problem with this decision although I think it is a precursor to him being dismissed permanently.
OT: I would hate to be a coach and have to worry about receiving calls from the police on 105 kids. I used to worry about it with my 4 kids. I think 2 are now out of the woods on that, but I still have 2 whose brains have not grown into their bodies.
Since it sounds like he's admitting selling cell phones that didn't belong to him, if not stolen by him, can he remain on the team regardless of what happened to the other charge?
At this point my guess is that there is a very small chance that he will play football again at Utah. The only way that possibly happens is if the charges are ultimately reduced to a misdemeanor. I do not believe that he will play this year for sure.
I think the stolen cell phones are the least of his worries. That charge could easily be reduced to a misdemeanor because the property needs to have a value of greater than $500 to qualify as a felony. Two used cell phones that he was trying to sell for $380? I think there is clearly a valuation question. If the other charge does not go away, it won't really matter what happens with the stolen cell phone charge.
It's not what he was trying to sell them for that counts. It's what the phone value is to the victim, as in what's the retail replacement cost.
The threshold for a felony is actually $1,500. $500 to $1,499 is a Class A and under $500 is a B
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This will get your Ute heart pumping and your football jones going:
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell