Battle of the Brothers. Utah vs USU. August 29th

[Jarid in Cedar]

I can't take it any longer! Time to start breaking down the game.

One word jumps out: REVENGE! This game bumped us out of a bowl, led to an injured John White(which caused the next 2 games to not go as well as we would like), and began the QB carousel that we have become accustomed to the last few seasons. That said, I think that too much focus on getting revenge is detrimental to success.

This game is important for several reasons:

1. Set the tone for the season.

I like that we are not playing the FCS sacrificial lamb this game. In both 2011 and 2012, we came away from the opener with more questions than answers, and that was ultimately because the talent disparity made it hard to gauge our team. By playing a quality opponent, we will get a much better gauge on the progression of the Linebackers, the newcomers in the secondary, the offensive line, and Travis Wilson.

2. The road to a bowl.

Lose this game and it is hard to see 6 other wins on the schedule. If we aren't good enough to beat USU at home, how are we going to beat the likes of U of A, ASU, OSU, (which we would need to win 2 of those 3 w/o a win over the Aggies), and that assumes that we sweep BYU, WSU and CU.

3. Restoring order of the dynamic between Utah and the Aggies

Too much media jabber about how Utah State is closing the gap, how they are challenging for supremacy in the state. A 20 point beatdown would quiet that talk for awhile.

[DrumNFeather]

I would like to think that the loss last year was more about Gary Andersen being a heckuva coach and motivator rather than any kind of talent discrepancy on the field. We played an awful game and were an offensive PI away from taking it to OT (coulda, shoulda, woulda, I know). It was also the game, I believe where we saw Travis Wilson fire one up to Ken Scott for 6 that was a thing of beauty. I think the combo of USU having a new coach and the Utes being hungry will ultimately lead to a Utah victory and a solid start to the season.

Here's hoping Fox Sports 1 and the networks get their negotiations completed prior to the game.

[LA Ute]

I will be at this game. Would love to meet up with some of you, somehow.

[Sullyute]

I will be at this game. Would love to meet up with some of you, somehow.

Is this a friendly meet up or do you plan on collecting old debts too?

[UtahsMrSports]

I like that you mentioned how nice it is that we aren't starting with an FCS team this year. I remember in 2010 just being sick with anticipation for that first game with Pitt. And IMO, the fact that we gutted out a win over a fairly decent team (at least talent wise) helped us until "the debacle of debacles".

These last two years, I was always excited to see our team and how we would do, but I knew that only negatives could be taken from the game. The montana state game was a joke and the fact that it took a quarter and a half to get rolling against Northern Colorado was disappointing.

At any rate, I am looking forward to this game. I think we will win by 10-14, but I am anxious to see how we do. I think it will help us having a tough opponent right out of the gate.

[sancho]

we will get a much better gauge

Yes, after this game, we should have a pretty good idea if we really have a shot at a bowl game or if we are headed for 3-9.

USU returns a bazillion starters. I have to think that favors them in the first game of the season.

[FountainOfUte]

USU returns a bazillion starters. I have to think that favors them in the first game of the season.

We had a bazillion starters returning last year, too, so who knows what that may mean.

With that said, I expect USU and all of their experience, discipline, and confidence to be a tough out, and by no means an impossible loss. I'm confident we'll win, but also confident that it will be close.

[Jarid in Cedar]

We had a bazillion starters returning last year, too, so who knows what that may mean.

With that said, I expect USU and all of their experience, discipline, and confidence to be a tough out, and by no means an impossible loss. I'm confident we'll win, but also confident that it will be close.

It took a perfect storm for them to beat us last year, and it all was encapsulated in the OLine and QB play. The defense held them to 20 in regulation(14 if you consider they got one score on a blocked punt). If our QB play is 20% improved and our line is 20% improved, we should have a controlling win(10-14 pts).

[LA Ute]

Is this a friendly meet up or do you plan on collecting old debts too?

Friendly, as far as I am concerned. That other stuff I leave up to my associates Carmine and Guido.

[roseparkutes]

I really can not wait for this game! if they lose its going to be a long season... I doubt usu is that good

[Utah]

Utah dominates, wins by 21. Wilson looks amazing and people start to completely overhype him as he passes for over 300 yards, but everyone fails to realize he has only one pass over 20 yards. The defense contains Keaton and our LB'ers look vastly better.

Final score 35-14.

Thats my dream for game #1.

[Hadrian]

Well, this is new:
http://imgur.com/0qmfZKM

[kccougar]

....for Utah :)

[Scorcho]

Things I want to see against those pesky Aggies (my wish list) …

Offensively
- A well prepared, balanced quick moving Ute Offense. I don’t expect an Oregon no-huddle type of pace, but I don’t want to see timeouts taken because the play wasn’t signaled in quick enough or several delay of game penalties.
- Offensive scores in each quarter (even if Utah starts slow and can only manage a field goal in the first few drives).
- Visible QB improvement from Travis Wilson over last year.
- A running back who establishes himself in game one. No RB by committee while things sort themselves out. One guy who can get 75 yards or more every week.

Defensively
- Hopefully Utah can take away the run game and make USU one dimensional. Contain Keaton and make him beat you throwing the ball.
- Don’t give up yards with late hits or over aggressive play.
- Win the turnover battle and create at least 2 turnovers.

Special Teams
- A Field goal or two.
- One big special teams play (blocked punt or a 35+ kickoff/punt return)

Other
- Clearly a WIN would be ideal.
- 8 or less penalties.
- No severe injuries by either the Ag’s or Utes.
- Respect level and good behavior by Aggie and Ute Fans.

[sancho]

Contain Keaton and make him beat you throwing the ball.


This is something that worries me for this game and all season. Running QBs killed us (killed everyone, really) last season. I'm not sure what we can do to stop it.

[Utah]

This is something that worries me for this game and all season. Running QBs killed us (killed everyone, really) last season. I'm not sure what we can do to stop it.

Mae won't run a 4-3 defense. We will run 4 down linemen, Blechen and another LBer, 5 defensive backs, with one just spying Keaton.

[roseparkutes]

Well, this is new:
http://imgur.com/0qmfZKM

I saw this too. whats the deal with it?

[Crimsonute]

I saw this too. whats the deal with it?If your section is red. Wear red. White, wear white. I think black and red would have been better, but people would have complained that those aren't our colors.

[Damage U]

I saw this too. whats the deal with it?

It's our chance to be cool like BSU. That, and to sell a lot of white Ute gear.

[roseparkutes]

if I knew what section Im sitting in it would be easier... no tickets yet

[OrangeUte]

I'm glad that we play a good mobile qb right up front. Our LBers need to be tested and chuckie keeton will be a very good test.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

[SoCalPat]

Utah dominates, wins by 21. Wilson looks amazing and people start to completely overhype him as he passes for over 300 yards, but everyone fails to realize he has only one pass over 20 yards. The defense contains Keaton and our LB'ers look vastly better.

Final score 35-14.

Thats my dream for game #1.

As far as Wilson and your final score goes, it sounds very much like our season opener in 2009 (which we won 35-17). Terrence Cain threw for 286 yards on 20 of 30 passing, with one completion longer than 20 yards (a 65-yard catch-and-run by David Reed). But we had to run Matt Asiata 40 times (!), lost the turnover battle 3-1 and got four points off safeties. So our 519 yards of total offense resulted in just 31 points, which is hardly an efficient outing.

I realize USU is much better now than it was in 2009, but if we're going to throw for 300 yards or more, we should score a lot more than 35 points. Under Kyle, when Utah has thrown for over 300 yards and won, it has averaged 43.7 PPG. The only times Utah has failed to score 35 points with 300 yards passing in a win were against Michigan and Alabama in 2008. Facing USU at home is a million miles from those two teams (Flip side: All of Kyle's losses in which we passed for 300 yards or more came at RES -- SDSU and UNM in 2005, BYU 2006, Washington 2011 and Arizona 2012). Another interesting 300-yard passing game tidbit: Before Washington in 2011, Utah had won 11 straight under Kyle when throwing for more than 300 yards. With Arizona last year, Utah is 0-2 in the Pac-12 when throwing for more than 300 yards.

My dream result would be for Wilson to throw for 250 yards on 15 or fewer completions. We run more than 40 times at 4.5 per clip, win the turnover battle by at least 2 and keep Keeton's PER under 125. We win by three TDs under that scenario, and probably more.

[Jarid in Cedar]

A few pics I took today to help whet your whistle

686

687

688

[roseparkutes]

I just got my tickets in the mail for this game and was noticing that my tickets are in w6, that is the Utah state section. I'm not sure if I should wear white or red dose anyone else have this problem?

[Senioritis]

I visited USUfans.com today, which is something totally unlike anything I thought I would ever type. Just typing that phrase into my mobile device makes me question everything I am doing with my life, what choices I've made that have brought me to this point. I visited USUfans.com today. Somebody feel free to hurl a lawn dart into my ear.

Anyway, I've got no problems with the Ags thinking they will beat the Mighty Utes. The proof is in the pudding, or some such, but they do have scoreboard and a returning QB that Whit wanted at safety. But whatevs.

The issue I have with USUfans.com is there seem to be several of them who honestly believe that the Utah State Aggies are currently better at playing football than USC. There was some discussion about where USU fits as far as difficulty on the Ute schedule, and a couple were having a tough time placing the Ags any lower than the fourth toughest game. No shiznits.

You know how you sometimes see a real jerk face driving like he's in a Jason Bourne movie, wildly weaving in and out of traffic and glaring at everyone he passes due to the sheer audacity of being on the road at the same time as him? And when you see that guy, it's a firm reminder that every other driver you see on the road is not a total idiot, nor part of a terrorist plot to keep you 120 seconds longer on your journey? And then you decide to be more courteous because you don't want to turn out like that jackass Jason Bourne?

Well, visiting USUfans.com is a similar type of firm reminder, not regarding driving like a renob, but regarding the pitfalls of homerism. You see it, you are agog, or perhaps aghast, and you commit to stop being a totally ridiculous homer.

I'm tired of the Aggie love. Nine days until Utah gives them the ass kicking they so richly deserve.

[Hadrian]

The issue I have with USUfans.com is there seem to be several of them who honestly believe that the Utah State Aggies are currently better at playing football than USC. There was some discussion about where USU fits as far as difficulty on the Ute schedule, and a couple were having a tough time placing the Ags any lower than the fourth toughest game. No shiznits.What they don't seem to understand, and what I daresay many Ute fans didn't understand until recently, is that the "bottom-dwellers" of the PAC would have put up much higher numbers and had winning seasons if they played a WAC schedule. We probably would have had something like an 11-2 season with their schedule last year.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Aggie love is like that 40ish year old special spirit who "accidentally" leaned against the washing machine while it was in the spin cycle.

[Senioritis]

So, looking at the box score from last year (http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=322510328), a game which I attended with a mixed group of Utes/Aggies, which was an absolute hoot, and which seemed like the freaking Super Bowl to the Loganites, it's quite clear that USU beat Utah because of the ground game.

USU had 164 yards on an average of 4.7. Kerwynn Williams was very good, but according to the Ags Joe Hill is probably much better than Kerwynn Williams because there's no possible way any USU replacement this year could be worse than the guy he's replacing from last year.

Also, Charles Keeton. My question about Charles Keeton is can Charles Keeton beat the Utes with his arm? Charles had 85 yards on 17 carries last year, including the big one in OT. It's tough to get a read on Charles's overall performance n 2012, due to the sheer number of scrimmages he participated in. However, as I look at Charles's stats against the four decent wins USU had in 2012 (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/512806/chuckie-keeton), it strikes me that Charles won games with his feet against good competition. Utah, Louisiana Tech, and Toledo were Charles's best running games of the season, and he averaged almost 8 yards per carry against SJSU. Against the BYU, he averaged 2.3.

I guess my thought is that Utah needs to totally sell out against the run, like 11 guys on the line of scrimmage every snap, full time spy on Charles, and let Charles do his thing through the air. While Utah's DBs aren't necessarily, ahem, the strength of the team, USU's receivers are, in a word, meh. I think Utah's corners will be just fine in that matchup. So, play man on the outside against average receivers, make Charles throw into tight windows, contain him and the Adrian Peterson-like Joe Hill on the ground, and let the magic of Travis Wilson shine forth in a glorious victory.

Can I get an amen?

[Utah]

So, looking at the box score from last year (http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=322510328), a game which I attended with a mixed group of Utes/Aggies, which was an absolute hoot, and which seemed like the freaking Super Bowl to the Loganites, it's quite clear that USU beat Utah because of the ground game.

USU had 164 yards on an average of 4.7. Kerwynn Williams was very good, but according to the Ags Joe Hill is probably much better than Kerwynn Williams because there's no possible way any USU replacement this year could be worse than the guy he's replacing from last year.

Also, Charles Keeton. My question about Charles Keeton is can Charles Keeton beat the Utes with his arm? Charles had 85 yards on 17 carries last year, including the big one in OT. It's tough to get a read on Charles's overall performance n 2012, due to the sheer number of scrimmages he participated in. However, as I look at Charles's stats against the four decent wins USU had in 2012 (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/512806/chuckie-keeton), it strikes me that Charles won games with his feet against good competition. Utah, Louisiana Tech, and Toledo were Charles's best running games of the season, and he averaged almost 8 yards per carry against SJSU. Against the BYU, he averaged 2.3.

I guess my thought is that Utah needs to totally sell out against the run, like 11 guys on the line of scrimmage every snap, full time spy on Charles, and let Charles do his thing through the air. While Utah's DBs aren't necessarily, ahem, the strength of the team, USU's receivers are, in a word, meh. I think Utah's corners will be just fine in that matchup. So, play man on the outside against average receivers, make Charles throw into tight windows, contain him and the Adrian Peterson-like Joe Hill on the ground, and let the magic of Travis Wilson shine forth in a glorious victory.

Can I get an amen?

I like this train of thought a lot. It accomplishes two things:

1 - It forces Keaton to beat us with his arm, which is his weak point.

2 - It forces our CB's to step up quickly. They have OSU in two weeks, and this gives them a chance to be alone on the corners with no help. See what they are made of.

[wally]

Whit has a tendancy toward the vindictive, which is one of the reasons that I love him. If his team wins by less than 7 his jaw will be perma-clenched for a week, if they lose his head will explode. I think that this is very comfy W.

Also, say what you will about those Aggies, but they make a helluva ice cream.

[sharpone]

Also, say what you will about those Aggies, but they make a helluva ice cream.

Speaking of another thing that pissed me off... I was hoping for a little consolation ice cream from the Aggie creamery after the game last year, but it was closed! What kind of crap is that?! Just another reason why they need a beat down this year in a bad way.

[Diehard Ute]

Having gone to USU I will never understand the obsession with the ice cream....I think I went there twice in 4 years.

The White Owl on the other hand.....

[UteBeliever aka Port]

Having gone to USU I will never understand the obsession with the ice cream....I think I went there twice in 4 years.

The White Owl on the other hand.....

You weren't part of the demographic that went out to get ice cream on a Saturday night. Were you, you would have fond memories of the ice cream.

There is a large part of that student body that wouldn't go to the White Owl...

[Diehard Ute]

You weren't part of the demographic that went out to get ice cream on a Saturday night. Were you, you would have fond memories of the ice cream.

There is a large part of that student body that wouldn't go to the White Owl...

There's a large part of that student body who didn't want people to know they went to the Owl (or the hush hush parties) ;)

[LA Ute]

Having gone to USU I will never understand the obsession with the ice cream....I think I went there twice in 4 years.

The White Owl on the other hand.....

737

[Utah]

So, I guess Tony Jones posted his thoughts on USU's message board, and so I took what he wrote, gave each position a score, then compared them. The first post I post will be the scores, what he wrote, and any thoughts I have. The second post will be comparing relevant positions to each other (for example Utah's DL score to USU's OL score). Here is how I scored it: Push = 0 pts; Edge = 1pt; Good Edge = 2 pts; Big Edge/By Far = 3 pts; continued compliment = 0.5 pts. It's long, so feel free to skip if you want to.

Here goes:

Utah has the edge on the defensive line. They have a very talented and deep front four, maybe even better collectively than last year, as hard as that is to believe.


So, if Utah had a very good DL last year, and this year might be collectively better, I put their DL at an 8.

Utah - 8.5
USU - 7

USU has the talent edge at linebacker by far. It's not even close. Next position.


USU 8
Utah 5

I think it's a push at corner. Love Nevin, but there's inexperience behind him. Utah's corners are very talented, especially Justin Thomas and and Reggie Porter. Keith McGill is moving to corner from safety.


Utah - 7.5
USU - 6.5

USU has a good edge at the safety spots. Almost as big as there is at linebacker.


This I find hard to believe. That USU's safeties are leaps and bounds better than Utah's. I don't think USU's FS is better than Rowe. SS, maybe, but not FS. Anyways, this is Jones's opinion and he has seen a lot more than we have (and if he is right, we will suck this year).

Utah - 5.5
USU - 7.5

Chuckie is Chuckie. Edge USU. However, Travis Wilson has made big strides in camp.


This quote is HUGE. USU only gets an "edge" here? That is GREAT news for Utah fans. If Wilson is only a step behind Keaton and our OL is better...this offense will shock people this year.

Utah - 7
USU - 8

UTah has a good edge at running back. Kelvin York has been good. the key is what's behind him. Really like James Poole, he's a beast. Lucky Radley and Karl Williams provide really good depth. Joe Hill is very talented. I heard the JUCO kid is very good as well.


This is good news. USU has been built on the run the last couple of years. If our guys are better, then hopefully the game gets easier for our LB'ers.

Utah - 7.5
USU - 5


USU has the O-line edge, but it's not a slam dunk there like it will be for you guys in 90 percent of your games. O line is where the Utes have arguably made their biggest improvement. Poutasi is a future NFL guy. Junior Salt - who almost went to USU - has been great in camp.


This is great. If our OL is a step behind USU's, then again, great improvement from last year for Utah.

Utah - 7.5
USU - 8

Utah has a big edge at wide receiver. Huge, actually. Scott and Anderson have been phenomenal in camp. Andre Lewis is a problem in the slot and Denham is improving. This is the biggest question area for USU. Guys are gonna have to step up here.


Yay for our WR's. If they can cut out stupid drops, they could be amazing. Add in a good OL, better running lanes for our RB's, and a QB who is just a step behind Keaton, and holy cow, we might have a watchable offense this year.

Utah - 8.5
USU - 5

[Utah]

So, how will they fare against each other? Let's see:

USU OL vs Utah DL:

USU 8 vs Utah 8.5 - Edge, Utah

USU RB vs Utah LB:

USU 5 vs Utah 5 - Push. If you add Keaton here, then I'd push USU up to a 7. This is KEY.

USU QB/WR vs Utah CB/S:


USU 8 (QB ), 5 (WR) vs 5.5 (S), 7.5 (CB )

So, Utah defense vs USU offense comes down to what we all knew. The OL/DL battle will be very, very good. Utah's CB's should be able to shut down the WR's, freeing the safeties up to run support/stop Keaton from running. If Utah can stop Keaton from running, especially on 3rd downs, USU's offense will look terrible (see the BYU game last year). If they can't stop Keaton, then expect a close game into the 4th (see Utah/Wisconsin last year). Utah should be able to handle the WR's one on one with their CB's and Utah's LB'ers and USU's RB's seem about equal. According to Jones, it all comes down to Keaton vs LB/S.

On the other side:

Utah OL vs USU DL:

Utah: 7.5, USU: 7

Utah RB vs. USU LB:

Utah: 7.5, USU: 8

Utah QB/WR vs USU CB/S:

Utah: 7/9-9.5 vs USU: 7.5/7.5

I added to Utah's WR's because Jones doesn't include TE's in his analysis. Murphy will be a beast.

So, running will probably be a little tough for Utah, with the OL/RB vs DL/LB basically a push. What Utah needs to do in this game is pass, and pass well, especially utilizing the TE's. If Utah can open the game up using Murphy the same way BYU used to use Pitta, then they pull the LB'ers off the LOS by a yard or two, which opens up the run game big time.

At this point, Utah can then get the run game to the point where they are getting 5 yards a carry, then USU has to pull a S up, and Utah can blow the game out of the water with throws to their WR's and TE's over the top.

All in all, it comes down to what we all knew; Utah has to stop Keaton and open the run game by using their TE's. If Utah can do those two things, they win easily. If they can't, then it will be another close game in the 4th quarter, with the W in doubt.

Either way, I'm excited to see how Erickson uses the TE's to really open up this offense.

[Utah]

Another thing that just popped into my head. Seeing how USU has a HUGE advantage at the LB position, and Utah's OL is inexperienced, I blitz my LB'ers like crazy. This is where Utah's offense will win or lose. If they can take advantage of the false blitzing LB'ers with Murphy then Utah can get a big lead early. If USU's LB'ers get pressure on Wilson, then I could easily see Wilson throwing an early pick or two and the game turning to the other direction.

This game is literally Utah's TE's vs USU's QB.

[sharpone]

Another thing that just popped into my head. Seeing how USU has a HUGE advantage at the LB position, and Utah's OL is inexperienced, I blitz my LB'ers like crazy. This is where Utah's offense will win or lose. If they can take advantage of the false blitzing LB'ers with Murphy then Utah can get a big lead early. If USU's LB'ers get pressure on Wilson, then I could easily see Wilson throwing an early pick or two and the game turning to the other direction.

This game is literally Utah's TE's vs USU's QB.

Good analysis. I re-watched last years matchup yesterday (as frustrating as that was) and took a couple of notes:
- We all remember the missed assignment leading to a blocked punt and TD, but I had forgotten that we had driven the ball down to the USU redzone 2 series after that and turned it over because Wynn had called for the silent snap count and tried to make adjustments when the ball was snapped. Aggies took the ball and went hurry up, ended up scoring as the Utah D was completely unprepared for the tempo change. That's a huge point swing. Takeaways - Utah has to have better tempo on offense, and less complexity. This isn't the NFL, too many audibles at the line. Utah's defense needs to be better prepared for the hurry up attack. By all accounts, both of these problems should be addressed.

- At the end of the 1st, a muffed kick return. DVC was deep and Henderson was the up man. The kick was short, DVC ran into Henderson who was lined up for the catch. Takeaway - Facepalm. DVC was less than impressive last year. Hopefully these special teams issues are cleaned up this year.

- Difference between Wynn and Hays. Hays makes no adjustments at the line, makes 1 read and gets the ball out. Simplicity works. USU blitzed on almost every play, but the quick out slant was beating the blitz. Hays was still getting hit on almost every play. Takeaway - If USU continues the approach of blitzing on every down (disrespecting the pass game), Utah needs to use the TE's and slant plays to shred that plan. Maybe some screen plays to the young dynamic backs will help.

2nd half
- Utah looked like a different team defensively, must've taken a nice butt chewing in addition to the adjustments. Takeaway - It seems like keeping Keaton contained in the pocket and making him beat you w/ his arm was a good approach.
- Utah scored on their first possession. Jump ball to KScott. Takeaway - need to leverage KScott's jump ball ability more, he has a big reach advantage and great hands.

The game was much more evenly matched in the 2nd half.

I believe I agree with "Utah's" assessment mostly, if the Utes can leverage the TE's more that should slow down the constant USU blitzing. The Utes needs to keep contain on Chuckie and make him beat w/ his arm. Travis Wilson needs to make quick pre snap reads and recognize the hot route. Last thing is Utes need to be cleaner in the TO game, they were very sloppy on special teams and had the unforced turnover in the redzone.

I believe if the Utes can play sound football - eliminate the mistakes, burn the USU blitzing with quick outs, this game can be blown open as the Utes break USU's will. I believe that Utah knows how to stop USU defensively and they have great tape on making their plan even better. With that said, these teams on paper are more evenly matched than they possibly have ever been in the average Ute fan's lifetime and I would not be surprised at all to see a close game falling one way or the other. I'll be disappointed if the Utes lose, but not surprised.

[Utah]

Nice response sharp.

I will say this: If Utah has zero turnovers, they win by 3+ TD's.

[Senioritis]

One thing I haven't seen too much talk about is the new DC the Loganites will bring to town. Gary Andersen took his guy with him to Wisconsin, right? And this new guy, Tony Tampa Bay or something, isn't a Gary Andersen guy, right? Isn't it within the realm of possibility that this new guy is not the defensive witch Gary Andersen is? Isn't it possible that Gary Andersen had something to do with the quality of the USU defense in 2012? I have a tough time believing it was all the Jimmies and Joes.

I would ask this question at USUfans.com, but I'm quite certain that they'll talk about the striking similarities between Todd Boca Raton and Vince Lombardi.

The closer we get to this game, the more optimistic I become, believing that the Mighty Utes are going to give the Aggies the ass kicking they so richly deserve. I need to call my overly-cynical father. He'll have me believing that the Aggies are the '85 Bears in no time. He should create an account at USUfans.com.

[Utah]

One thing I haven't seen too much talk about is the new DC the Loganites will bring to town. Gary Andersen took his guy with him to Wisconsin, right? And this new guy, Tony Tampa Bay or something, isn't a Gary Andersen guy, right? Isn't it within the realm of possibility that this new guy is not the defensive witch Gary Andersen is? Isn't it possible that Gary Andersen had something to do with the quality of the USU defense in 2012? I have a tough time believing it was all the Jimmies and Joes.

I would ask this question at USUfans.com, but I'm quite certain that they'll talk about the striking similarities between Todd Boca Raton and Vince Lombardi.

The closer we get to this game, the more optimistic I become, believing that the Mighty Utes are going to give the Aggies the ass kicking they so richly deserve. I need to call my overly-cynical father. He'll have me believing that the Aggies are the '85 Bears in no time. He should create an account at USUfans.com.

Want an embarrasing stat? Here is USU's recruiting class rankings since Utah won the Sugar Bowl:

104, 116, 77, 108, 112

Here are Utah's:

44, 28, 37, 32, 44

The fact that we are even allowing USU to think they have a shot, let alone win, is embarrassing.

[OrangeUte]

Senirotis would love the comments by the aggie fans in this article.

Apparently they are the best team ever! Just ask the guy named defendreality. Awesome!

http://m.sltrib.com/sltrib/mobile2/56764730-218/utah-keeton-whittingham-utes.html.csp

Keeton is great - no doubt about it.

I remember watching the pregame warmups and Wynn just didn't look confident. I hope the Utes come in w confidence and attitude and play with intensity from the opening kick off.

[Jarid in Cedar]

The degree of bravado of some of the Aggie fans is perplexing.

[Utah]

Who has USU beaten to make them feel like they can beat anyone? The only decent team USU has beaten is Utah with no QB, no Blechen and no Kruger. I think Utah wins by 17.

[Applejack]

I'm not counting Utah State out. I made that mistake last year. Yes, we have more talent than USU, but I also think we have enough question marks at key positions to worry. If all the sunshine about out talented freshman DBs and the improvement of Bubba Poole and a defensive line that will be better than one that featured 2-3 NFLers and Travis Wilson's leadership qualities and the newly focused linebacking core is all true than we win in a landslide. If not, I think the Aggies have enough talent to make it a game.

[LA Ute]

I'm not counting Utah State out. I made that mistake last year. Yes, we have more talent than USU, but I also think we have enough question marks at key positions to worry. If all the sunshine about out talented freshman DBs and the improvement of Bubba Poole and a defensive line that will be better than one that featured 2-3 NFLers and Travis Wilson's leadership qualities and the newly focused linebacking core is all true than we win in a landslide. If not, I think the Aggies have enough talent to make it a game.

I think it will be a game. Still, I hope we destroy them.

[sharpone]

I think it will be a game. Still, I hope we destroy them.

It seems that Whitt has had this game circled for a long while, being embarrassed by the outcome last season. I just can't see him losing this game.

I think it will be close through most of the first half and then shortly before half time Utah will start to pull away. After half time Utah will step on their throats and break their will.

[UBlender]

Want an embarrasing stat? Here is USU's recruiting class rankings since Utah won the Sugar Bowl:

104, 116, 77, 108, 112

Here are Utah's:

44, 28, 37, 32, 44

The fact that we are even allowing USU to think they have a shot, let alone win, is embarrassing.

On behalf of all of us at utahby5.com, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Barry Switzer from January 2, 2009. :p

[LA Ute]

We might have to wait until the 3rd quarter to know how the USU game will go. I'm hoping that after the first half of York pounding the Aggies' D-line, things will start to open up. That seems to be the plan:

Utah football: Utes running backs rarin' to go (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585100/Utah-football-Utes-running-backs-rarin-to-go.html)


York is determined to get in and wear defenses down. The 5-foot-11, 220-pound senior said once they get tired, Poole will get in and do his thing as well.


“It’s definitely a one-two punch,” York added.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Don't put too much faith in recruiting rankings. The first Freshman to ever win the Heisman was a 3-star recruit when he graduated from high school. He also won the Davey O'Brien award.

Second, the coaching experience (or lack thereof) factor shouldn't be ignored. Lane Kiffin had a lot of experience as a coordinator, and all of the talent in the world. And yet USC has been disappointing for a few years, and Kiffin has still made a number of bone headed mistakes. He may be on the hot seat. This does not bode well for Matt Wells, who had a significant amount of support from GA last year in his first year as OC.

[sancho]

Don't put too much faith in recruiting rankings. The first Freshman to ever win the Heisman was a 3-star recruit when he graduated from high school. He also won the Davey O'Brien award.

Three stars is pretty good. And that particular 3 star guy was surrounded by 3,4, and 5 star guys on his team. Does USU have any 3 star recruits?

There is a pretty decent linear correlation between recruiting rankings and on-field success. Not a perfect measure, of course, but a decent one.


Lane Kiffin had a lot of experience as a coordinator, and all of the talent in the world. And yet USC has been disappointing for a few years

When I watch USC the past few years, I see the effects of their ridiculous sanctions. They have no depth on defense, and by the 4th quarter, their defensive line is worthless. I'll withhold judgment on Kiffin until they get back to full strength (if they keep him that long).

[Jarid in Cedar]

Couple of things to watch Thursday.

On defense, watch for us to spy Keaton in obvious passing situations. I think Sitake fears Chucky's feet more than USU's tight end and running backs out of the backfield. I expect the spy will be Norris. This will allow the dline to be more aggressive with their lanes as they know they have done back up.

On offense we need to be able to run from guard to guard. Pounding York up the middle will squeeze the olb's inward, pull the ilb's up as well as the safties. This will allow Poole to hit the edge easier, open up play action to Murphy and Moala, and the post for Scott and Anderson. If York has 70 yards at halftime, we are going to roll.

[LA Ute]

I have 1 extra ticket for the USU game. PM me if interested.


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[Applejack]

So, looking at the box score from last year (http://espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=322510328), a game which I attended with a mixed group of Utes/Aggies, which was an absolute hoot, and which seemed like the freaking Super Bowl to the Loganites, it's quite clear that USU beat Utah because of the ground game.

USU had 164 yards on an average of 4.7. Kerwynn Williams was very good, but according to the Ags Joe Hill is probably much better than Kerwynn Williams because there's no possible way any USU replacement this year could be worse than the guy he's replacing from last year.

Also, Charles Keeton. My question about Charles Keeton is can Charles Keeton beat the Utes with his arm? Charles had 85 yards on 17 carries last year, including the big one in OT. It's tough to get a read on Charles's overall performance n 2012, due to the sheer number of scrimmages he participated in. However, as I look at Charles's stats against the four decent wins USU had in 2012 (http://espn.go.com/college-football/player/_/id/512806/chuckie-keeton), it strikes me that Charles won games with his feet against good competition. Utah, Louisiana Tech, and Toledo were Charles's best running games of the season, and he averaged almost 8 yards per carry against SJSU. Against the BYU, he averaged 2.3.

I guess my thought is that Utah needs to totally sell out against the run, like 11 guys on the line of scrimmage every snap, full time spy on Charles, and let Charles do his thing through the air. While Utah's DBs aren't necessarily, ahem, the strength of the team, USU's receivers are, in a word, meh. I think Utah's corners will be just fine in that matchup. So, play man on the outside against average receivers, make Charles throw into tight windows, contain him and the Adrian Peterson-like Joe Hill on the ground, and let the magic of Travis Wilson shine forth in a glorious victory.

Can I get an amen?

Agreed. Go watch the 5 minute "highlight" reel of last year's game on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbx522V77NY
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbx522V77NY)(which, unlike most Youtube pieces, shows plays from both teams - very novel). All of the big USU plays involve (1) Keeton running (2) Kerwyn Williams or (3) Sean Sellwood. The lone exception is the longish TD pass in the first half that put the Ags up 13-0 in which Norris had good coverage on the Aggies' back, but couldn't turn around.

[Senioritis]

Agreed. Go watch the 5 minute "highlight" reel of last year's game on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbx522V77NY
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbx522V77NY)(which, unlike most Youtube pieces, shows plays from both teams - very novel). All of the big USU plays involve (1) Keeton running (2) Kerwyn Williams or (3) Sean Sellwood. The lone exception is the longish TD pass in the first half that put the Ags up 13-0 in which Norris had good coverage on the Aggies' back, but couldn't turn around.

One other thought about this. I was watching the fourth quarter of the game last year, because I was all out of spiked reeds from my self-flagellation kit and I had to do something for penitence.

Anyway, the Aggies first play of the fourth quarter, VJ Fehoko comes on a delayed blitz and puts a facemask in Charles Keeton's sternum so hard it looks like he was preparing Charles for open heart surgery. The next two plays Charles does the whole "walking around like that didn't really hurt and nothing can faze me" thing, but limps off after the three and out with the memory of VJ Fehoko's facemask imprinted on his spine. The next possession is another epic Aggie one, where Charles looks about as comfortable in the pocket as Lane Kiffin without a spray tan. He goes 0-2, with a short hop to a receiver on a screen and a ridiculous throw into triple coverage.

My point is, yes, the priority is make Charles beat you with his arm. I'm not convinced Charles can beat you with his arm. But Charles, like many of the quarterback persuasion, doesn't appreciate an angry Polynesian trying to split him in half with a metal helmet either. If the Mighty Utes can mix in a well-timed VJ Fehoko special that makes Charles looks like he'd prefer a two-handed, limp-wristed slap fight instead of a football game, that could also help. I'm interested to see how reacts in such a situation.

I realize that the above is sacrilege to the even-keeled non-homers of USUfans.com, promoting the idea that Charles Keeton looked not much different than Jon Hays during long stretches of the 2012 contest. But I felt it my duty to sound forth anyway.

[Applejack]

One other thought about this. I was watching the fourth quarter of the game last year, because I was all out of spiked reeds from my self-flagellation kit and I had to do something for penitence.

Anyway, the Aggies first play of the fourth quarter, VJ Fehoko comes on a delayed blitz and puts a facemask in Charles Keeton's sternum so hard it looks like he was preparing Charles for open heart surgery. The next two plays Charles does the whole "walking around like that didn't really hurt and nothing can faze me" thing, but limps off after the three and out with the memory of VJ Fehoko's facemask imprinted on his spine. The next possession is another epic Aggie one, where Charles looks about as comfortable in the pocket as Lane Kiffin without a spray tan. He goes 0-2, with a short hop to a receiver on a screen and a ridiculous throw into triple coverage.

My point is, yes, the priority is make Charles beat you with his arm. I'm not convinced Charles can beat you with his arm. But Charles, like many of the quarterback persuasion, doesn't appreciate an angry Polynesian trying to split him in half with a metal helmet either. If the Mighty Utes can mix in a well-timed VJ Fehoko special that makes Charles looks like he'd prefer a two-handed, limp-wristed slap fight instead of a football game, that could also help. I'm interested to see how reacts in such a situation.

I realize that the above is sacrilege to the even-keeled non-homers of USUfans.com, promoting the idea that Charles Keeton looked not much different than Jon Hays during long stretches of the 2012 contest. But I felt it my duty to sound forth anyway.

Chuckie is slightly overrated. He is good, better than anything we have right now, but he's not going to beat a good defense. I'm just not sure we have a good defense.

My real question is: what random, unrecruited player from California is USU going to send to the NFL on the first day of the draft this year? I would like to know his identity in advance of Thursday, TIA.

[Utah]

Check me out on this Des News Video:


http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865585375/Is-USU-Utah-a-rivalry-Utah-football-fans-sound-off-on-the-Battle-of-Brothers.html

[DrumNFeather]

The degree of bravado of some of the Aggie fans is perplexing.

I've been thinking a lot about this, not just the bravado of some of the Aggie fans, but the idea that this could be a struggle for Utah. It's amazing how one victory (and two seasons of struggling in the Pac 12) has completely changed the narrative regarding this game. Are we really to believe that the talent gap is so thin that last year's overtime victory is now the rule and not the exception? Don't get me wrong, I believe that this could be a dangerous opponent, particularly if we start slow, but let's not kid ourselves here, this is our home opener, in our third season in the Pac 12, against a team that we routinely beat, who had a lot of mojo leave for Wisconsin. Personally, I believe the onus is on Utah St. to prove they can have sustainable success both in general and against us before I believe that we're anywhere near equal footing with them.

KW and Erickson and Brian Johnson need to put a game plan in place to attack, attack, attack. I'm not saying open up the playbook here, but I'm not convinced that they have anyone that can cover guys like Dres, Murph, Scott and Denham well enough that we can't take some shots down field. I think Kyle KNOWS how important it is to get off on the right foot and he's got an opportunity to build some momentum towards the conference home opener against Oregon St, and he HAS to do it, IMO.

I'm changing my score prediction. I think we beat them by 20+.

[LA Ute]

I tend to agree with D&F. Last year's game was a perfect storm. I think KW and the team want to lose the taste of that loss.


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[OrangeUte]

I tend to agree with D&F. Last year's game was a perfect storm. I think KW and the team want to lose the taste of that loss.


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I think the team is pretty torqued about last year's game. I read a quote where Whittingham basically said he dwelled on it last year for far too long. I have no reason to believe that the team isn't completely focused on getting that taste out of their mouths with a healthy win against usu.

I'm glad we aren't starting this season against a Podunk team from fcs. We haven't exactly blown those teams away the last two years, and that hasn't been helpful. I like that we will be challenged in the opener and then have a tune-up game after that.

[LA Ute]

Ted Miller once again puts local writers to shame:

Utah, CU seek revenge vs. 'little brothers' (http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/60630/utah-colorado-want-redemption-vs-little-brother)


Just about anything that could go wrong went wrong for Utah during its visit to Utah State last year. Nonetheless, there were plenty of moments when the Utes could have pulled themselves up by their Pac-12 bootstraps and cast aside a team that they had beaten 12 consecutive times.

Could've, should've, would've....

Utah and Colorado are about to begin their third year of Pac-12 play. Neither is happy with what has transpired over the past two seasons. Colorado has been awful, and Utah has gone from top-25 program to a team with a losing conference record.

It's not unreasonable to wonder if early-season losses to a "little brother" state rival last September -- as in non-AQ teams with a history of losing in the series -- might have taken the starch out of their seasons before they really had started, that a residual hangover lingered throughout the year.

"I think without a doubt," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. "Me personally, I didn't take it well. I wasn't able to put it behind me and move forward quick enough. In this profession, that's what you've got to be able to do. You've got to be resilient and, win or lose, move forward and focus on the next opponent. I think there was a little bit of a hangover, and that's squarely on my shoulders and my fault. I'm responsible for the mindset of the program and the team."

Let's set the table with "what if" for both. What if Utes QB Jordan Wynn doesn't in the second quarter again hurt his shoulder against the Aggies, an injury that would end his once-promising career? What if Coleman Peterson wins the game in regulation with a 52-yard field goal instead of missing? What if a TD catch in overtime from tight end Jake Murphy doesn't get nullified by an offensive pass interference penalty?

(We'll pause to allow Utes fans to express themselves about that call)....

Read the whole thing.

[Sullyute]

Steve Tate just said the Utes will win by 17!

[DrumNFeather]

Getting pretty pumped for the game. Wish I could be in RES, I love watching games there.

[U-Ute]

Getting on the train for my free ride up.

Go Utes!

[OrangeUte]

jeez this last hour has dragged!!!!!!!

[Jarid in Cedar]

And...here.....we....go....

766

[SuperGabers]

Checking in from the East Coast!

Go Utes!!!

This tag line is not obscene.

[mpfunk]

Any Internet feeds for the game.

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[OrangeUte]

Kenneth Scott down is not a good thing. Defense looked shaky so hopefully they get the rust off.

[OrangeUte]

I'm dying to see the high octane no huddle offense.

[OrangeUte]

Any Internet feeds for the game.

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Did you try Justin tv.

[OrangeUte]

Nice stop defense! Out kick off return wasn't exactly spectacular. Need to score here.

[OrangeUte]

This offense looks eerily familiar. Killer instinct fellas. Where is it?

[OrangeUte]

Jake Murphy for 7! Awesome! He is a beast. Strong and fast w great hands. Beautiful play!

[mpfunk]

Found a feed. One of the benefits of riding the train home is that I can actually watch the game while on the way home.

[mpfunk]

Damnit. Bad defense on that drive. We need to answer that one.

By the way, I'm pleased with the quality of the Fox One broadcast.

[OrangeUte]

Fox sports 1 coverage is a good quality. We need a little slight of hand on handoffs. Wilson telegraphs handoffs like nobody's business.

[SuperGabers]

Ugh! Really? The one announcer bugs!

This tag line is not obscene.

[OrangeUte]

That was a great defensive stand! How awesome!!!

[OrangeUte]

Love seeing Thretton w a great play.

[OrangeUte]

Poole saves a broken play! Awesome!

[OrangeUte]

Not happy with this offense at all.

[OrangeUte]

I hope this isn't going to be another year where we rely on our defense to keep us in games.

[OrangeUte]

Terrible holding call missed by the officials. Utes squander an opportunity.

[DrumNFeather]

Terrible holding call missed by the officials. Utes squander an opportunity.

Yeah. D needed a rest.

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[OrangeUte]

Yeah. D needed a rest.

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Got about 45 seconds off the clock.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Not happy with this offense at all.

Yep. Looking a lot like last year. Run off tackle, repeat, 3rd and long. 4th and 2.

[OrangeUte]

Orchard is playing great.

[OrangeUte]

Stupid penalty.

[OrangeUte]

Few pass plays where our D has been lounging too much.

[OrangeUte]

Didn't see a chop block there.

[OrangeUte]

Another play by Thretton.

[OrangeUte]

What the fuck!?!?!? Piss poor.

[LA Ute]

We are getting badly outplayed in every aspect of this game.

[OrangeUte]

Reilly w a great pass breakup.

[OrangeUte]

Huge 3rd down opportunity for the D. Get the stop and maybe we are up at halftime.

[OrangeUte]

Terrible defense on that fade pass.

[OrangeUte]

Terrible defense on that fade pass.

Davion Orphey the defender. Can't play bend don't break in the endzone like that.

[mpfunk]

Gonna be a long season. Hockey can't start soon enough.

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[Dwight Schr-Ute]

That 2nd quarter was pathetic offensively. As well as open USU guys in the secondary.

[OrangeUte]

That 2nd quarter was pathetic offensively. As well as open USU guys in the secondary.

Absolutely. No creativity. No swagger. No excitement.

[OrangeUte]

48 plays by usu to our 30.

301 yards to 182 total offense.

17:45 USU time of possession to 12:15.

We are lucky to only be down by 3. That fumble probably saved is being down by another score.

[DrumNFeather]

That 2nd quarter was pathetic offensively. As well as open USU guys in the secondary.

Yeah, I think maybe we need to run Poole a little more, we are going to need his speed in the second half.

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[OrangeUte]

USU doesn't respect us at all. They believe they are better than us, are more relaxed, and are playing better because of it.

Utes need a new gameplan on offense and a more revved up attitude. I want to see the captains more animated on the sidelines and motivating the team.

[Mormon Red Death]

Why the f*** is our free safety playing 40 yards off the ball?

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[OrangeUte]

Why the f*** is our free safety playing 40 yards off the ball?

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Wow. This is ugly. 20 unanswered points.

[DrumNFeather]

Why the f*** is our free safety playing 40 yards off the ball?

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That was horrible

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[OrangeUte]

Must score situation for the offense.

[mpfunk]

Remember when Kyle Whittingham was a good defensive coach?

We are a bad football team. Lose this game and we might go 2-9. The only game that I'm confident we win is Weber St. This is bad.

[OrangeUte]

Urgency boys.

[OrangeUte]

4th and short.

[OrangeUte]

We need a big play here.

[OrangeUte]

3rd sack on a completely obvious blitz.

[mpfunk]

3rd sack on a completely obvious blitz.

Yep. This is very worrisome.

[Mormon Red Death]

Is blechen out for the game or the season?

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[OrangeUte]

Is blechen out for the game or the season?

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I have not heard.

Short field. Good opportunity for Utes here.

[OrangeUte]

Ugh!!!!!

[OrangeUte]

Huge 3 and out.

[OrangeUte]

Why is Poole fielding punts and why is he not calling for a fair catch?

[Mormon Red Death]

In othet news Austyn carta samuels playong well for vandy.

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[DrumNFeather]

Throwing down field does help

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[OrangeUte]

HOT DOG!!!! Huge play to dres Anderson!!!

[OrangeUte]

Horrible against the blitz. Horrible.

[Mormon Red Death]

I'll take points even if its only 3

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[DrumNFeather]

Horrible against the blitz. Horrible.

It's called a hot read Travis, find one.

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[OrangeUte]

Awesome onside kick!!! Fitzgerald is coming alive!!!

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Swing!

[DrumNFeather]

Well then

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[OrangeUte]

Don't get complacent D.

[OrangeUte]

Davion Orphey makes up. Good play buddy!

[OrangeUte]

Huge play coming up to start the 4th quarter.

[OrangeUte]

Wow. That was impressive.

[OrangeUte]

Keeton is taking the game on his shoulders.

[OrangeUte]

Crap defense.

[OrangeUte]

Tackle him for crying out loud!

[OrangeUte]

Fitzgerald is playing great. Next Braden Godfrey?

[OrangeUte]

Good run Wilson. That was impressive.

[OrangeUte]

I'm liking Karl Williams.

[DrumNFeather]

Time for a sneak

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[OrangeUte]

Normal kick off here Utes. That crap only is going to work once.

[OrangeUte]

I was trying to be cocky. Dammit!

[OrangeUte]

Go for it dammit!

[OrangeUte]

That gives usu's defense some confidence to hold us to 3. Glad to take back the lead but we should have gone for it.

[DrumNFeather]

Just a little variation would be nice

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[OrangeUte]

Just a little variation would be nice

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Yup.

[Mormon Red Death]

That gives usu's defense some confidence to hold us to 3. Glad to take back the lead but we should have gone for it.

You take the lead this late in the game.

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[OrangeUte]

Orchard!!! Great tackle for loss!

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

I'm a few minutes behind but that spot on second down was crap.

[OrangeUte]

Come on - huge 3 and out! Nice!

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Nice catch on the punt. Let's win this thing!

[OrangeUte]

I'm a few minutes behind but that spot on second down was crap.

Seriously. About 18 inches off.

[OrangeUte]

Poole with a huge run on first down.

[OrangeUte]

Dres w a huge play!

[OrangeUte]

Keeper by Wilson. That was a great play!

[wally]

Charles Keaton is dominant. I knew he was good, but I way underestimated him. I don't think we will face any other quarterbacks like him the rest of the season. At least I hope we don't. USUs OL gives him tons of time.

Our OL is not impressing, and our RBs are not able to create for themselves that well. Hopefully game experience helps them improve quickly.

[OrangeUte]

Wjat a great second half.

[OrangeUte]

Charles Keaton is dominant. I knew he was good, but I way underestimated him. I don't think we will face any other quarterbacks like him the rest of the season. At least I hope we don't. USUs OL gives him tons of time.

Our OL is not impressing, and our RBs are not able to create for themselves that well. Hopefully game experience helps them improve quickly.

Hundley makes me nervous too.

OL has played better in the second half but they need to sharpen up.

[OrangeUte]

Kick the field goal and then tough on defense. Come on Utes!

[OrangeUte]

Nice to have a kicker! Great!

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Nice to have a kicker! Great!

I think we're going to really like this kid.

[OrangeUte]

Great! Not pretty but there is some positives!

[OrangeUte]

I think we're going to really like this kid.

I already do!

[Mormon Red Death]

We got the win and we got the cover and we got the over what a helluva game

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[DrumNFeather]

We got the win and we got the cover and we got the over what a helluva game

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Ugly at times, but i'll take it.

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[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Ha! Utes score 30. Glad that's over.

[mpfunk]

Well great comeback. The onside kick was a gutsy call, perfectly executed, and the call the completely changed the game.

The defense actually looked like Whittingham's defense of old in the 2nd half.

The offense has improved substantially from last year. Dennis Erickson as the OC is just a substantial upgrade from Johnson.

[DrumNFeather]

302 and 2 tds for Wilson is a nice start. I love Bubba Poole as well. And how about Fitzgerald...RM advantage!

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[OrangeUte]

302 and 2 tds for Wilson is a nice start. I love Bubba Poole as well. And how about Fitzgerald...RM advantage!

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Fitzgerald played a great game. Wow!

[OrangeUte]

302 and 2 tds for Wilson is a nice start. I love Bubba Poole as well. And how about Fitzgerald...RM advantage!

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We have got to find a punt returner. Can't use Poole there - not smart.

[Mormon Red Death]

We have got to find a punt returner. Can't use Poole there - not smart.

Where at where is Henderson?

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[DrumNFeather]

We have got to find a punt returner. Can't use Poole there - not smart.

Dres is probably too valuable, but maybe give him a shot.

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[Applejack]

I'm glad we got the win, but that was ugly. The offensive one-two punch of Karl Williams and Sean Fitzgerald will not work against the Pac-12. I'm even less sold on Wilson than I was during the off-season.

On defense, teams are going to throw on us all year.

[OrangeUte]

Orchard giving a great interview.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Was there ever any mention about Scott's injury? Knee or ankle?

[Jarid in Cedar]

Where at where is Henderson?

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Still hurt

[OrangeUte]

Was there ever any mention about Scott's injury? Knee or ankle?

I never heard anything.

[USS Utah]

Breaking: K Scott is done for the year.

Big blow.

[OrangeUte]

Breaking: K Scott is done for the year.

Big blow.

Broken bone? That's terrible. Sorry to hear that for him.

[OrangeUte]

I'm glad we got the win, but that was ugly. The offensive one-two punch of Karl Williams and Sean Fitzgerald will not work against the Pac-12. I'm even less sold on Wilson than I was during the off-season.

On defense, teams are going to throw on us all year.

Don't forget about Denham. 1-2-3 punch I suppose.

Glad that Denham and Fitzgerald really stepped up.

We have lots to tighten up but getting this game was important. More difficult opener than the last two years and I think we responded fairly well.

Wish we had seen more of the tight ends.

Corners settled down in the second half. Definitely need to be better going into the PAC 12 conference play. OSU and Byu will be a good test for our secondary.

Orchard and Reilly lived up to expectations.

Glad to have answers to the kicking game.

[Devildog]

That was a good football game.

I'm glad the team dug in and held. I think USU played strong and Keeton deserves respect... that kid is fast and makes plays.

Good start but we have a long way to go, and if we are going to make a bowl game this year we are going to have to improve in the secondary and line play. I thought USU controlled the line of scrimmage better than we did.

[Hot Lunch]

my quick thoughts on the game.

Positives:
Travis Wilson played a really good game. No turnovers. Made some great throws and spread the ball around. He has grown up this off season. There were a few times where I thought he held on to the ball a little too long in the pocket but overall, impressive game.

Denham and Fitz, those two really stepped it up after losing Scott. Denham especially. Dre Lewis better be ready to go.

Nate Orchard is a beast. He made big plays all night. He is going to have a big year.

The Utah D stepped up in the second half. Especially the front and stopping the run.

The Skier turned kicker. That dude is the man.

The Negatives:

Our secondary was awful. I understand it was the first game for few players. It wasn't for our safeties. The middle of the field was open all night. That was hard to watch.

Offensive line was awful. Zero push on the run game. Didn't pick up blitz that cost drives. They need to improve or we will be awful.

Chuckie keeton is dang good. He, by himself almost won that game for the Aggies.

No i need find when they are going to air the game again so I can record it. For some reason it didn't.

[LA Ute]

What I love about Andy Phillips (our kicker) is that tonight was the first football game he has ever played in. Cool. The guy is a weapon.

I agree with the positive comments about Wilson. The kid showed that intangible "winner mindset" that we all love to see in QBs. He just figured out how to win.

I didn't like the way our o-line was manhandled by Utah Freaking State. They could not open holes to save their lives. Our D-line, in contrast, was getting blocked all first half the the USU RBs seemed to have holes to hit all night.

Was it just me or are we weak on the defensive edges like we were last year? That, plus the line play, could make this season a long one if those two things don't get better.

All in all, a good win against a good team. A loss would have been devastating.

[LA Ute]

Stripe the Stadium actually worked pretty well.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/30/jetebazy.jpg

[LA Ute]

During the pregame remembrance of Gaius Vaeniku, the MUSS held up these cards.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/30/7ydyzybe.jpg

[Jarid in Cedar]

Just got home. Will give my thoughts in the morning. Time to sleep.....

[DrumNFeather]

What I love about Andy Phillips (our kicker) is that tonight was the first football game he has ever played in. Cool. The guy is a weapon.

I agree with the positive comments about Wilson. The kid showed that intangible "winner mindset" that we all love to see in QBs. He just figured out how to win.

I didn't like the way our o-line was manhandled by Utah Freaking State. They could not open holes to save their lives. Our D-line, in contrast, was getting blocked all first half the the USU RBs seemed to have holes to hit all night.

Was it just me or are we weak on the defensive edges like we were last year? That, plus the line play, could make this season a long one if those two things don't get better.

All in all, a good win against a good team. A loss would have been devastating.

I have to think that on some level, their play had to do with the emotion of the game. USU came out and played like they had nothing to lose, and in some critical spots, our line did not respond. Also, a little variety around the goal line would've been nice...we have a 6'6 QB after all.

I think it's always a good thing to be able to play so poorly (at times) in the opener, and still come out with the win. While some will use this as evidence that the Utes are doomed this season, I think that's a bit silly and this win will be good to build on.

[SoCalUte]

My thought on the defense is: was the original game plan to contain Charles? It seemed like there wasn't a push from the line. Not a whole lot of blitzes. Seemed like coach didn't want Charles to run free and thought this would do the trick.
It wasn't until the second half where whit and co changed the defensive scheme where you saw a lot more pressure up front that it shut Charles down. Only 170 yards in the second half compared to over 300 in the first.


Sent from my iPhone

[DrumNFeather]

Some other thoughts...

My original score prediction was 32-22 and I bumped it up by 10 because I wasn't buying into the hype, but I have to say, you've got to respect what they are building up there in Logan. The State of football in Utah is probably as strong as it has ever been, and I suspect that Chuckie Keaton (best QB in the West if I am to believe the pre-game) will make a lot of defenses look bad.

It will be interesting to see what adjustments are made in the running game. For as "bad" as it seemed at times, we still ran for 148 yards, and Poole and Williams had some very nice carries. I'd like to see us take advantage of that.

Overall a pretty conservative game from a play-calling perspective, but it seems like they threw the ball well down field...that was a match up I thought we needed to take advantage of more and we didn't. Also, let's teach Wilson a hot read or two, we had no answer for the blitz, and that will have to improve.

With Ken Scott done for the year, Tonga and Murphy become that much more critical. Does anyone know if we had any WRs that we were planning to redshirt that we might be able to bring in to contribute this season?

All in all, nice to see this team not fold, that shows good leadership and resiliency.

[DrumNFeather]

Ken Scott likely to get a medical hardship with his injury according to Kyle's post game presser.

[LA Ute]

Some other thoughts...

My original score prediction was 32-22 and I bumped it up by 10 because I wasn't buying into the hype, but I have to say, you've got to respect what they are building up there in Logan. The State of football in Utah is probably as strong as it has ever been, and I suspect that Chuckie Keaton (best QB in the West if I am to believe the pre-game) will make a lot of defenses look bad.

It will be interesting to see what adjustments are made in the running game. For as "bad" as it seemed at times, we still ran for 148 yards, and Poole and Williams had some very nice carries. I'd like to see us take advantage of that.

Overall a pretty conservative game from a play-calling perspective, but it seems like they threw the ball well down field...that was a match up I thought we needed to take advantage of more and we didn't. Also, let's teach Wilson a hot read or two, we had no answer for the blitz, and that will have to improve.

With Ken Scott done for the year, Tonga and Murphy become that much more critical. Does anyone know if we had any WRs that we were planning to redshirt that we might be able to bring in to contribute this season?

All in all, nice to see this team not fold, that shows good leadership and resiliency.

It did seem that he was powerless to do anything about it, for example on that one important 3rd down when it was obvious they were blitzing and he was sacked almost immediately.

[sancho]

Well, my rosy 44-10 didn't come to pass, but I was real close in total points!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:

Good: win for Gus, a new kicker to love for the first time in a while, a comeback when we looked good and dead, the defensive ends, no huge penalties, Wilson with some accurate throws, an end around followed by a fake end around on the last series

Bad: losing Scott - out least deep position just got less deep in a big way, we are going to give up a lot of yards on big pass plays this year

Ugly: the 3 and outs are still here, way too many 0 yardage runs again, needed a lot of huge breaks to win this thing, still have a hard time with the blitz, Wilson with some inaccurate throws

Last year, USU got every break and we almost won. This year, we got every break and almost lost. They repeatedly bailed us out on penalties.

Keeton was good - we will see 3-4 better QBs this year.

Time to start the OSU game prep. That's the game we all circled months ago as the biggest of the year.

[Two Utes]

Haven't read others, but here are my thoughts. Skier boy can really kick it. His 45 yarder could have been good from 60.

Defensive player of the game? Nate Orchard. Why take him out so much on pass situations? Especially on the first series of the second half. How could he be tired then? We are thin. As soon as we rotate our second group on D we struggle. After that first series in the second half, we pretty much completely stopped the subbing--and we played a ton better.

Very pleased with Wilson, but why in the world do we fall back into the pattern of rarely running the QB in spread option situations? We ran Wilson a ton last year (when he wasn't starting) and he is big and durable. Why didn't we try having him keep it on one of the plays down at the goal line in the 4th? Run the QB more for god sakes.

Chuckie is damn good.

I would have liked to see us go to Murphy more. When we did, we were successful.

One of the RB's needs to step up.

Play of the game was clearly the onside kick. Brilliant play and timing.

[sancho]

My thought on the defense is: was the original game plan to contain Charles? It seemed like there wasn't a push from the line. Not a whole lot of blitzes. Seemed like coach didn't want Charles to run free and thought this would do the trick.
It wasn't until the second half where whit and co changed the defensive scheme where you saw a lot more pressure up front that it shut Charles down. Only 170 yards in the second half compared to over 300 in the first.
Sent from my iPhone

All week we said "make him beat us with his arm." Seems like that was the coaches' plan too, and he very nearly did beat us with his arm. Great QB. But even though we never could bring him down, I was encouraged that he managed only a few big runs. Last year, every QB out there beat us with his legs.

[sancho]

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly:


I forgot a big one - Good: no interceptions

[Applejack]

Any news yet on York?

[sancho]

How was the atmosphere at the game? Did our three bball recruits come away impressed?

The onside kick was ballsy - let's not forget going for it on 4th and short too.

[Devildog]

I really want to believe that we played that game with only half the playbook.

We are going to need more than that to play competitively in the PAC schedule.

I think USU is going to be a good Mountain West team and should compete against Boise for the Championship of that conference. However, if we are going to compete for a bowl game with the schedule we have... we are going to have to open it up.

[Two Utes]

How was the atmosphere at the game? Did our three bball recruits come away impressed?

The onside kick was ballsy - let's not forget going for it on 4th and short too.

Terrific atmosphere. It was too hot if the sun was hitting you, but once the sun went down or you were in the shade, it was one of those perfect Utah summer nights (this has been a damn good summer for those nights). In my opinion, the atmosphere is as good as anywhere in the west.

[Senioritis]

Raise your hand if you had Quade Chappuis penciled in at ILB in passing situations. Anyone??

He had a clutch stop on 3rd and 11 in the 4th quarter.

[SoCalPat]

Early third, with us down 11 and Utah State driving, I was resigned to a loss.

Utah State dominated the line, our secondary was poor and our offense reverted into 2012 mode after a brilliant first quarter.

Once we got back into the game, I realized that my senses had been dulled by previous season openers against Northern Colorado and Montana State. We were actually playing a team that punched back.

And for as poorly as certain units played in spots (the O-line's best series -- our last drive that led to a FG that provided the winning points -- came against a USU defense that was not as its freshest), last night has to rate very high in the Kyle era as far as season openers go.

Dennis Erickson is already paying dividends. We ran 72 plays despite having the ball for only 27 minutes. USU ran just 7 more. Last year, Utah actually ran 75 plays in regulation, but get this ... our TOP in that game was 34 minutes. Breaking it down even more, last year against USU, we ran one play for every 27.8 seconds of possession. Last night, it was one play every 23.2 seconds. We're not Oregon, but we're getting better. The only series in which we looked anything close to what we saw last year was our final drive when we were deliberately chewing clock.

Our rushing game sucked ass. We averaged 3.4 YPC -- a pitiful number. And prior to our final drive, we had rushed for all of 98 yards. We were in second-and-long all night long -- 18 times we were in second-and-long (7 yards or more) and only 4 times did we face 2nd-and-6 or less. Two of those four plays came in goal-line situations. That's not to say 2nd-and-long is death -- several of our big plays came in that down and distance. But we were behind the 8-ball on down/distance all game long. That has to get better.

Wilson was very good. When he can punish teams for blitzing him, he can step into the territory of the greats. Passer rating of 174.8. If we get that from Wilson for a season, we'll win 8 games. I can think of one pass that had me shaking my head, but his reads, delivery and accuracy were pretty good all game.

Keeton's rating was actually less than Wilson's but still pretty good at 159.9. That said, his rushing totals made him the better QB on the field. And I thought our front 7 did a good job on Chuckie. He's gonna break plays, but I thought guys like Reilly and Orchard did a great job in creating the pressure that allowed another player to clean up.

Phillips was nails. Thank god he didn't suffer the same fate as Ken Scott going after that onsides kick.

I'm lost on where Kelvin York fits in now. Poole is a stutter-and-cut type of back. He doesn't create his own hole. We gave him the ball on 3rd-and-short, stuttered his feet looking for the hole and was stopped for no gain. He got the message on the next play and plowed ahead for the first down, but we went with Karl Williams almost exclusively in short-yardage after that (Cause for alarm: With York's benching or injury ... don't know which, we have no true dependable short-yardage back). Not sure if any can pick up a blitz, and Poole whiffed badly at least once. But you can see the potential in these guys.

All in all, I'd give last night a solid B as far as season openers go.

[sancho]

our secondary was poor

There are a few QBs who are absolutely going to carve us up this season. ASU's Kelly comes to mind. Mannion too.


When he can punish teams for blitzing him

I want to see this. USU rushed only 3 on our first TD to Anderson. I don't think they made that mistake again all night. When you KNOW a blitz is coming, you have to punish them for it.

[Devildog]

Good read SocalPat.

I'm looking forward to Jarid's analysis too.

[Slim]

I really want to believe that we played that game with only half the playbook.

I've got to believe this is true. Our last two 1st and goal drives we run the same play 3 times in a row trying to play smash mouth with USU's D. It worked once but not the second time. It was very frustrating watching it the same play over and over, and over. I kept yelling at the screen run play action. I'm betting DE didn't want to show his hand, at least that is what I'm hoping. We looked very vanilla offensively and still put up decent numbers. I'm betting we look very vanilla next week against the Wildcats too. Hopefully come Oregon State, DE opens up the playbook.

I only got to watch the 2nd half due to work, driving home listening to the halftime Chuckie was killing us. He had over 300 yards in the first half. Whitt and Sitake made good adjustments 2nd half to better contain him. That boy can play.

I thought Wilson looked good too. The offense looked better than last year. We had more total yards last night offensively (450 total yards), than we had all of last year save the Washington State game (453 total yards) and that was only 3 more yards.

Definitely a great win, but there are still a lot of stuff to work on.

[LA Ute]

Anyone remember the last time a Ute QB threw for over 300 yards? That was fun to watch.

I thought Whitt's summary (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/56800272-89/utes-game-aggies-keeton.html.csp?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Salt%20Lake%20Tribune&utm_content=) was dead-on:


"We are an average football team at best," Whittingham said. "We have a lot of things to resolve. The defensive numbers were higher than usual and that is to be expected when you are running a fast tempo, but we have to be better than we were tonight. A lot of that was Chuckie Keeton, but we have got our work cut out for us."

[LA Ute]

Here's Andy Phillips in a press interview after the first football game of his life:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdWSPZeVYSg#t=31

[LA Ute]

Whitt and Travis on the game:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJRAa1Y-VWU

[SoCalPat]

Anyone remember the last time a Ute QB threw for over 300 yards? That was fun to watch.

Try our last home game prior to last night.

[DrumNFeather]

Anyone remember the last time a Ute QB threw for over 300 yards? That was fun to watch.

I thought Whitt's summary (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/utes/56800272-89/utes-game-aggies-keeton.html.csp?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=The%20Salt%20Lake%20Tribune&utm_content=) was dead-on:

That is some good coach speak right there.

[SoCalPat]

I really want to believe that we played that game with only half the playbook.

You really don't want to believe that, because that would mean we have absolute morons as head coaches.

Like I said earlier, the opposition punched back. We haven't seen that in a while.

This game went exactly as Vegas said it would. It was a FG game at the end, and we were on the right side of the hook. The only down side to that is if we play every game to what Vegas expects, we're probably a 5-win team. I'm hoping we can get a little bit of swagger from this game, a little more from Weber and snowball this thing.

[sancho]

You really don't want to believe that, because that would mean we have absolute morons as head coaches.


Yeah, this was a dogfight, and we did all we could to win. We didn't hold anything back.

On the series in question, I think they felt we had a good chance of getting 1 yard with 3 chances. It worked the first time, not the 2nd. I don't mind those play calls. You are right in once sense - there is obviously a lot more that we will do with that goal line formation. Keeping it bland in the first game will hopefully help us later on. On the 1 yard line, you should run it most of the time. I'm sure we will see some more misdirection and some passes on that in the future.

[LA Ute]

That is some good coach speak right there.

But he was right, wasn't he?


Try our last home game prior to last night.

I didn't remember, which is why I asked the question. Arizona, then. Tough morning, SCP?

[Two Utes]

You really don't want to believe that, because that would mean we have absolute morons as head coaches.

Like I said earlier, the opposition punched back. We haven't seen that in a while.

This game went exactly as Vegas said it would. It was a FG game at the end, and we were on the right side of the hook. The only down side to that is if we play every game to what Vegas expects, we're probably a 5-win team. I'm hoping we can get a little bit of swagger from this game, a little more from Weber and snowball this thing.

This was a must win game for us to be bowl eligible. So is next week. And we have to at least split the next two after that.

[sancho]

This was a must win game for us to be bowl eligible. So is next week. And we have to at least split the next two after that.

We should get a lot of OSU game prep in this week. Big game.

[Devildog]

If we were not holding anything back... then where were the TE plays? Murphy had a great play for a big gain, but I expect to be seeing much more from the TE's in the future.

[Applejack]

This was a must win game for us to be bowl eligible. So is next week. And we have to at least split the next two after that.

I think we need to be 4-0 to realistically make a bowl game. If we lose to either BYU or OSU, we HAVE to beat Colorado and WSU (road) and we need to steal one from one of the Arizona schools. I think that is a lot to ask of this team.

[Two Utes]

I think we need to be 4-0 to realistically make a bowl game. If we lose to either BYU or OSU, we HAVE to beat Colorado and WSU (road) and we need to steal one from one of the Arizona schools. I think that is a lot to ask of this team.

We have a chance to beat UCLA at home.

[DrumNFeather]

But he was right, wasn't he?

I guess. But I think he was doing more to motivate the team AND the coaches in a very public way. He's just doing his job.

[SoCalPat]

If we were not holding anything back... then where were the TE plays? Murphy had a great play for a big gain, but I expect to be seeing much more from the TE's in the future.

If USU is going to blitz a lot (they did), if we don't have effective measures to counter the blitz (we don't) and Murphy's forte is not blocking (I suspect it isn't), then we're playing 10-on-11 with Murphy in the game. With the routes we have our TEs run, coupled with how often we were in predictable passing downs, it was a tough game for our TEs to have an impact.

[SoCalPat]

But he was right, wasn't he?



I didn't remember, which is why I asked the question. Arizona, then. Tough morning, SCP?

I'd say your morning was tougher, hence, your inability to remember a rare and notable achievement from our last home game. :)

[Two Utes]

If USU is going to blitz a lot (they did), if we don't have effective measures to counter the blitz (we don't) and Murphy's forte is not blocking (I suspect it isn't), then we're playing 10-on-11 with Murphy in the game. With the routes we have our TEs run, coupled with how often we were in predictable passing downs, it was a tough game for our TEs to have an impact.

Not sure how you assume he isn't a good blocker.

[Devildog]

Westlee Tonga didn't account for much during this game either. He can block and catch (as can Murphy). If the blitz is on... a quick dump pass to the TE in the flat should be an option.

[LA Ute]

I'd say your morning was tougher, hence, your inability to remember a rare and notable achievement from our last home game. :)

In my defense I will turn to the best authority in the world on the subject of important knowledge:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2R3FvS4xr4

[Scorcho]

my lone comments on the game. Had 'em all the way! :)

[Flystripper]

If we were not holding anything back... then where were the TE plays? Murphy had a great play for a big gain, but I expect to be seeing much more from the TE's in the future.

you guys ran an onside kick in the 3rd quarter. I don't think you held anything back.

[Devildog]

you guys ran an onside kick in the 3rd quarter. I don't think you held anything back.

The two examples are not mutually exclusive. Besides... you hope that is all we got.

[Rocker Ute]

Sat next to a kid who claims he is best friends with Andy Phillips, he was actually claiming this before the game even started. He claimed that in practice he can hit 65 yarders. I know that many kickers claim that, so FWIW. But he was confident, he kept saying, "If the snap and hold is even remotely good he'll get it through there, he is money."

Him and his buddies were pretty excited each time he came out on the field.

Keeton was fun to watch, so was their RB Hill. It seems that 80% of their offense is those two, so I wonder what happens to USU when they are gone. We need to either be able to pick up the blitzes or get better blitz read options, or maybe Wilson and the TE's aren't/can't execute them. Regardless, after last night every team is going to blitz like crazy. Time to punish them for it.

Glad to get that Monkey off our back... we probably need to be 4-0 to go bowling... and it possible that we don't see many wins between CU and WSU... be prepared if that happens to eat our own on the various message boards and forums out there.

[Rocker Ute]

you guys ran an onside kick in the 3rd quarter. I don't think you held anything back.

We may not have held anything back, but in an interview last night Whittingham claimed that Jay Hill as he was scouting the game found this vulnerability with USU and was bugging Whit to run the play, saw it as a way to steal a possession. Apparently Hill was calling for it earlier in the game and Whit nixed it.

If true, my guess is we would have seen that in the game sometime regardless.

[Flystripper]

The two examples are not mutually exclusive. Besides... you hope that is all we got.

You really think that the Utes were holding stuff back in a must win game that they were losing? Not to mention they were losing to a team that they had lost to last year and is the in-state little brother? I don't think so. Did your guys run everything that they will be capable of running as the season progresses? Of course not, but your coach was not going to gamble with the season by holding back a portion of the playbook that was able to be properly executed. No coach would do that.

[sancho]

Keeton was fun to watch, so was their RB Hill. It seems that 80% of their offense is those two, so I wonder what happens to USU when they are gone.

Well, I said that about Turbin a few years ago. Who knows? I do hope that USU drops back into mediocrity, and soon. I don't need 3 good football programs in this little state, and I can root for them more easily if I don't have to fear them.


We need to either be able to pick up the blitzes or get better blitz read options, or maybe Wilson and the TE's aren't/can't execute them. Regardless, after last night every team is going to blitz like crazy. Time to punish them for it.

This is not new. This is the story of the season for the past 2 years. We have been blitzed on nearly every down for 2 consecutive years, and so far we have no answer for it at all. I don't think this is on the line. I think it is on the offense coordinators and the QB.

We really need to figure out how to get some yards on 1st down. At one point, USU was like 9/12 on 3rd downs, and it was because they had 3rd and short over and over again. We just won't be converting many 3rd downs when they are obvious passing downs.

[sancho]

Missed holds are nothing new to football, but that missed hold on Keeton's scramble was as clear as daylight. It happened right next to the QB. Not sure how anyone could miss that call.

[Flystripper]

Missed holds are nothing new to football, but that missed hold on Keeton's scramble was as clear as daylight. It happened right next to the QB. Not sure how anyone could miss that call.

it was a bad hold but it came on the back of the phantom chop block call so it evened out.

[Devildog]

You really think that the Utes were holding stuff back in a must win game that they were losing? Not to mention they were losing to a team that they had lost to last year and is the in-state little brother? I don't think so. Did your guys run everything that they will be capable of running as the season progresses? Of course not, but your coach was not going to gamble with the season by holding back a portion of the playbook that was able to be properly executed. No coach would do that.

You might be right. I'm just trying to consider that USU is only the first (little sloppy) game of a season that includes match-ups against Oregon State, USC, Oregon, Stanford, ASU,and UCLA.

Maybe we didn't show everything we have. When we needed to move the ball late in the third quarter... we sure did, in a hurry. Then we went back to straight up the middle.

[sancho]

Maybe we didn't show everything we have. When we needed to move the ball late in the third quarter... we sure did, in a hurry. Then we went back to straight up the middle.

Straight up the middle is important, and it worked. We converted a HUGE 4th down, and we scored a TD. I didn't mind those calls at all.

I did think that we rarely ran to the outside. Maybe we thought their OLBs were too good? Maybe that's not a big part of the offense?

[UteBeliever aka Port]

it was a bad hold but it came on the back of the phantom chop block call so it evened out.

There were several in the backfield on scrambles and out on the end. You really couldn't see them on TV. A few plays I had to rewind to see it. Sitting at the stadium, they were obvious. There was one prior to the aformentioned hold where the O-lineman was actually horsecollaring the Utah defender. Had him by the back of the neck of his jersey and the official just stared at it. To me, that was the far more egregious hold

[UteBeliever aka Port]

You really think that the Utes were holding stuff back in a must win game that they were losing? Not to mention they were losing to a team that they had lost to last year and is the in-state little brother? I don't think so. Did your guys run everything that they will be capable of running as the season progresses? Of course not, but your coach was not going to gamble with the season by holding back a portion of the playbook that was able to be properly executed. No coach would do that.

This I agree with.

[Flystripper]

You might be right. I'm just trying to consider that USU is only the first (little sloppy) game of a season that includes match-ups against Oregon State, USC, Oregon, Stanford, ASU,and UCLA.

Maybe we didn't show everything we have. When we needed to move the ball late in the third quarter... we sure did, in a hurry. Then we went back to straight up the middle.

Either way your playbook will be a little bigger by the time you play other teams because that is just the natural progression of things. Whether playcalling was held back by playing cat and mouse or by early season lack of execution/comfort level it matters not. I just think the Ute coaches are too good to gamble with a potential crushing loss by holding stuff back. Its just my opinion and I could be wrong. For me it would not bring me any comfort to believe that Bronco or Anae held something back and almost lost the game. To me that would say that my coaches are not appropriately focusing on the task at hand.

[sancho]

it was a bad hold but it came on the back of the phantom chop block call so it evened out.

True, those were the only two standout bad calls of the game.

The fumbles evened out too. Both were very bad fumbles at very bad times.

[Applejack]

Either way your playbook will be a little bigger by the time you play other teams because that is just the natural progression of things. Whether playcalling was held back by playing cat and mouse or by early season lack of execution/comfort level it matters not. I just think the Ute coaches are too good to gamble with a potential crushing loss by holding stuff back. Its just my opinion and I could be wrong. For me it would not bring me any comfort to believe that Bronco or Anae held something back and almost lost the game. To me that would say that my coaches are not appropriately focusing on the task at hand.

I absolutely hate the "we only showed half the playbook" rationale after bad opening games. I heard it endlessly after Montana St last year. "Our offense is really going to pop once we open up the playbook." Didn't happen. There is NO way that we held back large parts of our offense this year in an opening must-win game.

I hate to be the downer after a win, but we lost our best playmaker (Scott) on offense last night and maybe our second (York). Teams are going to lock onto Anderson all year if the best we have behind him are Denham and Fitz. And, as Senioritis pointed out a few weeks ago, if we are relying on Karl Williams, we are in trouble.

[Hot Lunch]

As I have thought about last nights game throughout the day, I still haven't been able to watch it, so all my thoughts are based on watching this live form the stands....... The more I am impressed with how Travis Wilson played. At the same time, I get more and more disappointed at our offensive line.

Until late, we weren't able to establish a run game at all. Utah's o line got zero push. We didn't do a good job protecting Wilson. Dan Finn I am calling you out. I am sure he reads this board. Last year our O line was not good. This year I heard that throughout camp, there a lot of improvements but after what I saw last night, I was not pleased. When we had the ball first and goal from the 3 in the 4th quarter, our O line folded. It was such a let down to see that we had to settle for 3 points there instead of 7. It also backed up what I was feeling the entire game. We got owned up front.

Back to Travis Wilson.......... I thought that he held onto the ball a little too long on two plays, I also thought he threw two passes that he shouldn't have thrown. Luckily neither of those balls resulted in a turnover. At the same time, he looked poised, he made good reads, the was accurate with his throws and most importantly, he made plays to put his team in position to win the game. He did it at times with a lot of pressure on him. All of this after he lost his best wide out on the 2nd drive. Well done Travis. Get your crap together O line.

The TE's have to become a bigger part of the offense now. Murphy and Tonga are too talented not to. Murph should have anywhere from 5 to 7 receptions a game and Tonga should have at least 3.

A win is a win. Go Utes!

[U-Ute]

What I love about Andy Phillips (our kicker) is that tonight was the first football game he has ever played in. Cool. The guy is a weapon.

I agree with the positive comments about Wilson. The kid showed that intangible "winner mindset" that we all love to see in QBs. He just figured out how to win.

I didn't like the way our o-line was manhandled by Utah Freaking State. They could not open holes to save their lives. Our D-line, in contrast, was getting blocked all first half the the USU RBs seemed to have holes to hit all night.

Was it just me or are we weak on the defensive edges like we were last year? That, plus the line play, could make this season a long one if those two things don't get better.

All in all, a good win against a good team. A loss would have been devastating.

It may have been my imagination, but when he came in for that late kick, he was limping. It looked like it was his plant foot. Did anyone else see it?

[Hot Lunch]

And.................... Chuckie Keeton is a really good college quarterback. Really good. He is a ton of fun to watch. I think the only Q.B. that we will see that will be better than him is Mariota.

[Sullyute]

It may have been my imagination, but when he came in for that late kick, he was limping. It looked like it was his plant foot. Did anyone else see it?

He was limping a little. The tv showed some staff working on him during the fourth quarter.

[Scorcho]

love the Seeing Red Photos in the SL Trib

http://seeingred.sltrib.com/

They are too large to insert into this thread.

[LA Ute]

There were several in the backfield on scrambles and out on the end. You really couldn't see them on TV. A few plays I had to rewind to see it. Sitting at the stadium, they were obvious. There was one prior to the aformentioned hold where the O-lineman was actually horsecollaring the Utah defender. Had him by the back of the neck of his jersey and the official just stared at it. To me, that was the far more egregious hold

I saw that horsecollar block.

[LA Ute]

You really think that the Utes were holding stuff back in a must win game that they were losing? Not to mention they were losing to a team that they had lost to last year and is the in-state little brother? I don't think so. Did your guys run everything that they will be capable of running as the season progresses? Of course not, but your coach was not going to gamble with the season by holding back a portion of the playbook that was able to be properly executed. No coach would do that.

On defense we held back our linebackers' speed. They were only pretending to be slow by letting USU's RBs run around the ends at will. We also held back our ability to cover the middle 10-15 yards our from the LOS. We don't want people to know we're actually quite deadly at defending that part of the field.

[LA Ute]

Riley just said something on his show that I think is spot-on: "The last 4:40 of that game was why you hired Dennis Erickson."

[sancho]

I think the only Q.B. that we will see that will be better than him is Mariota.

Most people would put Hundley above him. Maybe Hogan too. I think Kelly might be there. We'll see on Mannion.

[Hot Lunch]

Most people would put Hundley above him. Maybe Hogan too. I think Kelly might be there. We'll see on Mannion.


I like both Hundley and Hogan. I don't think Hundley moves as well as Chuckie does. He is bigger and has a bigger arm but I don't think he creates as well with his legs. Feel the same way about Hogan. Both are also better pro prospects but I don't think they have an impact like Chuckie does because of his running ability.

That being said, Utah faces some good q.b.'s this year.

[hostile]

Couple of thoughts in addition to what has been already mentioned.

The ball really explodes off Miller's foot. Several years on the US ski team have developed some strong quads. In seems weird to be fawning over a kicker but it is football. He is my wife's new favorite player.

Orchard looked great. On the play where he caused/recovered the fumble he stood right over the center listening to Keeton call the play. Not sure if he new what was coming but he took a straight line to the qb after the snap.

Good to see Jarid and his horde. I got there late and had to leave early due to work and didn't have time to say Hi. Glad you're home safe. If you ever need a place to crash before driving home let me know.