A rare Friday night kickoff for Utah.
USU was on the ropes at home to SUU. I expect them to be markedly better and more focused at RES. Still, I expect Utah to win by 10-14 points.
A rare Friday night kickoff for Utah.
USU was on the ropes at home to SUU. I expect them to be markedly better and more focused at RES. Still, I expect Utah to win by 10-14 points.
It would be good for this team to have a convincing, confidence-building win.Originally Posted by Redbird
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I want Kyle to go for the kill after getting them on the ropes. I want to win be 21+, and to have zero injuries to both teams.
Then I want Chris Hill to swap USU for byu in half of the future schedules.
As an Aggie alum, I concur with this sediment.
As opposed to getting a 10-point lead and then relying on the D to protect it?
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"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I'll be very happy to eat crow if events prove me wrong. All the info I have tells me that Kyle prizes defense above all else, thinks the offense's job is to score just enough points to allow the D to win the game, and generally that Kyle just doesn't have an offense-oriented mindset. It's not in his DNA. So he's our guy, he's brought me lots of joy as a Utes fan, he's an exceptional human being and a very nice man. I'm proud he's our head coach. I'm just not in love with the way he approaches the offensive part of the game.
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Last edited by LA Ute; 09-06-2015 at 09:18 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I don't know what to expect from this game. I did not see the USU/SUU game so I have nothing other than the score to make a judgment. How good was Michigan? Again, not sure. What I hope to see:
1. Much improved blocking from the OL, the TE's and especially the WR's. Michigan dominated our OL and even if Michigan's defense is very good, we still have a number of very good defenses left to play. Our blocking needs to have dramatic improvement for this season to meet expectations.
2. Less confusion in pass coverage.
3. Back - up LB's giving Norris and Paul a break.
4. Joe Williams get 7 or 8 carries when the game is still competitive.
5. A convincing win.
I'm not an insider. I have no information besides what I see, read and hear in local and national coverage, and on the net at this site and UF.N. Even so, I think this conservative Kyle theory is nonsense. Yes, Whit is a defensive minded coach, having played defense in college and having been a defensive coach throughout most of his career before becoming a head coach. But the idea that he limits the offense to scoring just enough points so the defense can win the game is just plain silly. And there are plenty of examples of games where Utah put up a lot of points, granted, mostly in the pre-Pac-12 days. This theory may have been lurking around for a few years -- I think there has always been a number of Ute fans who have been envious of BYU's pass happy offense, and I even met people who preferred Fassell over Mac because the former scored more points -- but I think it really came to the fore after the UCLA game last year when KT centered the ball for the winning FG. The theory was then given more fuel by the struggles of the passing game through the second half the of season. The passing game on Thursday was more creative than last years, with more throws over the middle, but right now Utah lacks a deep threat, and until a WR steps forward to be that threat, it makes little sense to throw deep in the name of scoring more points and not being conservative.
"It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant
I am not suggesting any of the bolded points above. They're insulting to the intelligence of any Utah fan who's paying attention. Why are you raising them?
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I still think the conservative Kyle narrative is nonsense. Yes, I do think Kyle would prefer a ball control type offense, and he certainly has a preference for establishing the run. This is very different from the philosophy of other teams which like to jump out to quick leads and then score as many points as possible.
At the same time, however, Whit has hired OCs to run an uptempo, no huddle offense -- or at least to give Utah that capability. This alone seems to argue against the idea that Kyle thinks "the offense's job is to score just enough points to allow the D to win the game".
"It'd be nice to please everyone but I thought it would be more interesting to have a point of view." -- Oscar Levant
I believe that Kyle will always make the conservative choice in all phases of the game if the score, time remaining and quality of the opponent suggest to him that this is the most likely way to win the game. I believe that the percentages will back him up. There have been and will be games when the percentages will go against that strategy. But that is true regardless of the choice you make.
I agree with KW's innate conservative tendency, but he also knows it's very difficult - and risky - to rely on a grind-it-out offense in the PAC. Last year's offensive production had as much to do with Dave Christensen's effect on everyone else as it did with KW deciding to let the defense and our kickers decide games. The Sugar Bowl is the classic example of KW letting the offense loose, but even in that game, that strategy was the most likely to get the W, because getting into a slugfest with Alabama was a sure way to lose the game.
After a good showing by the offense vs Michigan, I think KW will loosen the reigns a bit more with these next two games, to help develop the offense and get the young WRs tasting some success. The next two weeks could be interesting with Booker, because he'll want to go for 200 yards both games, but KW will want to keep him in the freezer and let Joe Williams and Marcus Sanders-Williams carry the run load.
Getting the team focused for a USU team that will be on a redemption campaign will be a test for player leadership.
The offense was high octane against csu in the kv bowl too. Was that because DC was effectively goNE at that point, because it was a lesser opponent, because we had a month to prepare, or all of the above? In other words, was that an anomaly for DC or do harding and a rod deserve the credit?
I agree, it's totally overblown. There isn't a coach alive who would rather win by 7 instead of 27. And we've lit up the scoreboard against inferior foes in the past.
Kyle does have some wires crossed when it comes to singular decisions on fourth down (he's not the only coach), but that's due to misguided, antiquated thinking across the entire football community that he's grown up in, and not because he wants his defense to "win the game" for him.
He wants to play the percentages and as many have noted here, he usually gets them right. I remain convinced that when it comes to the importance of offense vs. defense, in his heart of hearts he thinks defense is king. There are lots of people who've been close to him over the years who tell me this. His OC hiring pattern is largely the result of his defense-oriented view. (It helps explain the Brian Johnson hire.) That doesn't mean Kyle's a bad coach at all; it just means that's who he is and we can't expect him to change. I do think he's more serious about who serves as OC now. I hope so, at least.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Utah opens as a 12.5 favorite and the books offer 13.5. Total is a juicy 44.5. You have to go back to 2005 to find a Utah-USU game with fewer points, and USU was in the first year of a HC (Brent Guy) who proved in a landslide to be the least-successful coach USU has ever had. My two-teamer last week with under 46 in Utah-Michigan and Minnesota +16.5 hit; you can bet I'm finding a parlay this weekend that incorporates the over in Utah-USU.
Utah State put up 12 last week at home against Southern Utah. 34 - 10 isn't a stretch.
Also, discount the closeness of our last two games vs. USU. The two greatest years for USU football ever, and two of our worst in the last 20. Prior to 2012, Utah had won by more points than this week's spread in 9 of 10 meetings. When we're good -- and we're good this year -- we win comfortably. Before this line gets to 14, I'm getting my money down on Utah and the over.
Domo reinstated per Whittingham on his weekly show. Coach's decision.
I wonder how quickly he'll be back on the field?
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I would guess he's transitioned over the next two weeks (depending on fitness level) to be fully ready for Oregon. If that means a percentage of snaps the next two games or something else, I don't know.
I wonder if this gives CBB time on offense or if CBB's production bumps Domo to offense for a stint since that was his original position.
One thing to watch in this game is how well our WRs and TEs block. Peppers made them look bad in the Michigan game, but he can't be the explanation for all of it. I bet they are working on it this week and that we'll see improvement against USU.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
I haven't followed the Aggies this summer, but what I do know is they have a heisman finalist at QB. I expect downtown SLC to come out to catch a glimpse of the greatest-QB-ever-to-play-a-game-in-Utah-except-for-JIM-HARBAUGH-who-was-really-a-coach-but-he-was-amazing, Chuckie Keaton.
Isn't chuckie coming off back to back season ending injuries? Also, a failed transfer to Oregon St.
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“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
I listened to Al Lewis on the zone. Al is the Utah St Greg Wrubell, and amazingly enough, he is more of a homer.
He said the Aggies are without most of their receivers. He says something is not right with Chuckie.
Basically, this is not the team that came here in 2013. Defensively, they are solid. Not much offense though.
Evan moeai is done for the year.
Really unfortunate. Opens the door for guys like Handley & Repp.
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“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Crap. I re watched that play a few times. Still not sure how that injury happened.
"Don't apologize; it's not your fault. It's my fault for overestimating your competence."
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