Utah vs the Weber State purple cats.

[Jarid in Cedar]

So, despite the rash of FCS victories this last weekend, I don't see one in this game on Saturday. Here are the list of things that I want to see.

1. Offensive domination, in the order of 45+ points.

2. Minimal first string participation after the 1st possession of the second half.

3. Schulz getting real reps, meaning, the full offense. No "we aren't going to pass" to avoid embarrassing them.

4. I hope WSU blitzes every. single. down.

5. Pray for no injuries.

6. Phillips with a chance to kick a 50+ yarder. This is a great game to see what his realistic range is in the flow of a game.

[Applejack]

For those thinking of hosting friends to watch the football action, here is a tasty culinary suggestion from our Wildcat friends.

[Hot Lunch]

So, despite the rash of FCS victories this last weekend, I don't see one in this game on Saturday. Here are the list of things that I want to see.



5. Pray for no injuries.

.

This x10.

[UTEopia]

I know to BYU RB Jamal Williams, a loss feels like a win, and apparently to many in the media and in Aggie land, Utah's win wasn't really win, but unless the totally unthinkable occurs and the Utes lose to Weber, how do you measure success against a team that you should beat by 4 touchdowns. I don't think point total or point differential will tell the whole story in this game.

I guess here are some things that I would look at:

Did the non-rotation 2's and 3's play all of the 4th quarter and did they hold their own against the Weber. If so, I think that tells me that the 1's took care of business and that the 2's and 3's are starting to develop.

Did the 1 offense average +5 per carry and score at least 30 points through the first 3 quarters. Did the OL clearly control the LOS.

Did the O score it more easily down by the goal line.

Did the 1 defense hold Weber to 3 or less per carry and not allow the Weber receivers to make any big plays downfield.

[sancho]

I know to BYU RB Jamal Williams, a loss feels like a win, and apparently to many in the media and in Aggie land, Utah's win wasn't really win, but unless the totally unthinkable occurs and the Utes lose to Weber, how do you measure success against a team that you should beat by 4 touchdowns. I don't think point total or point differential will tell the whole story in this game.

I guess here are some things that I would look at:

Did the non-rotation 2's and 3's play all of the 4th quarter and did they hold their own against the Weber. If so, I think that tells me that the 1's took care of business and that the 2's and 3's are starting to develop.

Did the 1 offense average +5 per carry and score at least 30 points through the first 3 quarters. Did the OL clearly control the LOS.

Did the O score it more easily down by the goal line.

Did the 1 defense hold Weber to 3 or less per carry and not allow the Weber receivers to make any big plays downfield.

Apparently Weber has a QB who is a threat to run, so I would say we can look at how well we contain him. This is good practice for Stanford, Oregon, Arizona, BYU, and UCLA.

[SoCalPat]

This was an average Utah team that throttled a weak FBS team, one probably on par with what we're facing this week.

Gimme a quick start, a stifling defense and a second unit that puts points on the board and I'll say we had a successful game.

http://utahutes.cstv.com/sports/m-fo...091606aaa.html

[Applejack]

Guys, guys, we already have the OFFICIAL Weber St thread here http://www.utahby5.com/showthread.ph...te-purple-cats! Let's all practice thread preservation!

[LA Ute]

Guys, guys, we already have the OFFICIAL Weber St thread here http://www.utahby5.com/showthread.ph...te-purple-cats! Let's all practice thread preservation!

Threads have been merged. UTEopia's question is excellent, however, and I hope it continues to generate discussion.

[Applejack]

I don't think you can measure success against Weber St. In fact, it's the one game this year that I plan on not watching.

If our out-of-conference schedule is going to be (1) USU/BYU (2) Good BCS team (3) creampuff, who would you prefer to see as the creampuff game? Personally, I would do away with the FCS game and schedule a lower-tier MWC team instead, like New Mexico, Wyoming, UNLV, or SDSU (sorry, Aztecs, but it's the truth). I'm not sure they would give us a one-and-done, but I do have nostalgia for our WAC/MWC days.

[sancho]

I don't think you can measure success against Weber St. In fact, it's the one game this year that I plan on not watching.

If our out-of-conference schedule is going to be (1) USU/BYU (2) Good BCS team (3) creampuff, who would you prefer to see as the creampuff game? Personally, I would do away with the FCS game and schedule a lower-tier MWC team instead, like New Mexico, Wyoming, UNLV, or SDSU (sorry, Aztecs, but it's the truth). I'm not sure they would give us a one-and-done, but I do have nostalgia for our WAC/MWC days.

I wouldn't mind that, but you never know what those teams will look like 5 years out. SDSU looks horrible right now, but they had a great season a couple years back. Eventually, UNM will have a good year again. What if our "creampuff" turns into something scary? Good for fans, I guess, but maybe not good for the season.

That's why the SEC is lucky to be in Sun Belt country. Even in their good years, Sun Belt teams cannot compete with SEC team. The Big10 has the MAC. We used to have the WAC, but BYU killed that thing.

[Applejack]

I wouldn't mind that, but you never know what those teams will look like 5 years out. SDSU looks horrible right now, but they had a great season a couple years back. Eventually, UNM will have a good year again. What if our "creampuff" turns into something scary? Good for fans, I guess, but maybe not good for the season.

That's why the SEC is lucky to be in Sun Belt country. Even in their good years, Sun Belt teams cannot compete with SEC team. The Big10 has the MAC. We used to have the WAC, but BYU killed that thing.

True, there is some risk involved. But I hate scheduling D-2 teams. Having SOME chance of losing is necessary to make the game interesting, no? I feel like Saturday's game is about as interesting as the Red-White game.

How about Hawaii? USC has a good thing going with their first game of the year on the islands - they always suck.

[sancho]

True, there is some risk involved. But I hate scheduling D-2 teams. Having SOME chance of losing is necessary to make the game interesting, no? I feel like Saturday's game is about as interesting as the Red-White game.

How about Hawaii? USC has a good thing going with their first game of the year on the islands - they always suck.

I'm fine with your plan. It is more entertaining for us as fans. But that's not really the point of the creampuff game, right? It's a tune up and a guaranteed W. When placed first in the season, it's also a safety valve for suspending players for any offseason behavior. You can't guarantee those things out of any MWC team 5 years out.

It would be very nice if we could all just agree not to schedule FCS team anymore. The Big10 is leading the charge on this. If the committee is smart and rewards them for this with multiple playoff spots, the other conferences will follow. If the committee just plows forward with SEC teams, nothing will change. The downside is that scheduling would become easier for BYU.

I know the committee's charge will be to pick the 4 best teams, but I think their charge should include incentivizing conferences to make the scheduling changes that everyone wants.

[SoCalPat]

I'm fine with your plan. It is more entertaining for us as fans. But that's not really the point of the creampuff game, right? It's a tune up and a guaranteed W. When placed first in the season, it's also a safety valve for suspending players for any offseason behavior. You can't guarantee those things out of any MWC team 5 years out.

It would be very nice if we could all just agree not to schedule FCS team anymore. The Big10 is leading the charge on this. If the committee is smart and rewards them for this with multiple playoff spots, the other conferences will follow. If the committee just plows forward with SEC teams, nothing will change. The downside is that scheduling would become easier for BYU.

I know the committee's charge will be to pick the 4 best teams, but I think their charge should include incentivizing conferences to make the scheduling changes that everyone wants.

I don't think FCS teams should be scheduled after October. But to say there should be a blanket ban on scheduling FCS teams is overreaching. What made the opening weekend of college football exciting? It was the rash of FCS upsets of FBS teams. And quite frankly, with the 12-game schedule and excessive bowl schedule, you'll never see games against FCS teams go away. It's why teams can count one FCS win toward bowl eligibility every year, instead of every four.

The best way to rid schools of scheduling FCS teams is to go back to the 11-game schedule, and that'll happen over the dead bodies of ADs and school presidents.

[sancho]

I don't think FCS teams should be scheduled after October. But to say there should be a blanket ban on scheduling FCS teams is overreaching. What made the opening weekend of college football exciting? It was the rash of FCS upsets of FBS teams. And quite frankly, with the 12-game schedule and excessive bowl schedule, you'll never see games against FCS teams go away. It's why teams can count one FCS win toward bowl eligibility every year, instead of every four.

The best way to rid schools of scheduling FCS teams is to go back to the 11-game schedule, and that'll happen over the dead bodies of ADs and school presidents.

I think there's a chance it could go away. It depends on the selection committee. It would take something dramatic from that committe against the SEC, though.

If there were no FCS games, there would still be exciting week 1 upsets of MAC/CUSA/SunBelt teams over Big5 teams.

[Utah]

I think there's a chance it could go away. It depends on the selection committee. It would take something dramatic from that committe against the SEC, though.

If there were no FCS games, there would still be exciting week 1 upsets of MAC/CUSA/SunBelt teams over Big5 teams.

If you take away lower division teams, you would get more upsets week one than you currently have now.

[roseparkutes]

#5 pray for no injereies is probably the best on the list. I wish teams would stop playing the fcs. I'd be all for a low leave mwc or even a low level BCS team

[Applejack]

If you take away lower division teams, you would get more upsets week one than you currently have now.

Sounds awesome!

[U-Ute]

Per Lya: Pita Taumoepenu cleared to play by the NCAA.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsut...-utes.html.csp

[codered]

This is big. My vote would be to RS him unless it becomes evident we need him out there.

As for this week, I'm hoping that by about 12:30 pm on Saturday, we will all be bored and wondering if Shultz will get to throw the ball at all. Weber can put up the points, but hopefully we're taking them seriously and can throw a bunch up ourselves. That way we can leave the starting DB's in against what appears to be a pass happy team and get them lot's of live practice experience.

Per Lya: Pita Taumoepenu cleared to play by the NCAA.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/blogsut...-utes.html.csp

[LA Ute]

I have three tickets to the Weber State game that I can't use. These are the extra ones I bought for my kids - so not as good as the others. Section 32, Row 58. Face value is $36. If interested, PM me!

[wally]

One other thought is that we need York or Poole to really emerge in this game.

[Applejack]

One other thought is that we need York or Poole to really emerge in this game.

What is the status on York? Is he playing?

[Jarid in Cedar]

I hope we redshirt Pita. I think that Orchard basically wasted his 2011 season for a handful of plays, and I would really like to have Nate around for 2015.

Unless a guy projects as an NFL 1-3 rounder by his third year of college, he should redshirt unless pressed into service because of depth issues. :sigh:

[Applejack]

I hope we redshirt Pita. I think that Orchard basically wasted his 2011 season for a handful of plays, and I would really like to have Nate around for 2015.

Unless a guy projects as an NFL 1-3 rounder by his third year of college, he should redshirt unless pressed into service because of depth issues. :sigh:

I completely agree. But this might be a depth issue year. Pita seems so raw (much like Orchard), however, that maybe he doesn't help our depth. We certainly shouldn't waste him as a special teamer.

[Applejack]

This thread is moribund - that says something about the excitement of playing D-2.

Let's stop navel gazing and talk about Weber State for a moment. What are we to make of a school that lists both Boyd K. Packer and Fawn Brodie as alums?

[Jarid in Cedar]

This thread is moribund - that says something about the excitement of playing D-2.

Let's stop navel gazing and talk about Weber State for a moment. What are we to make of a school that lists both Boyd K. Packer and Fawn Brodie as alums?

This kindled the fire. My anger now boils for Purple Blood. DIE! DIE! DIE!

[Applejack]

This kindled the fire. My anger now boils for Purple Blood. DIE! DIE! DIE!

Then I should probably not tell you that they also claim the founder of Dos Hermanos as one of theirs.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Then I should probably not tell you that they also claim the founder of Dos Hermanos as one of theirs.

[Jarid in Cedar]

On the road with a 3 hour eta

[kccougar]

On the road with a 3 hour eta

JIC racking up the miles this weekend. Drive safe on the way home this afternoon.