Bring Home the Beehive Boot: Utes vs Agriculturalists

[LA Ute]

LOL. Hit in the mouth? Vegas expected us to win by 11 and we won . . . . by 10! Oh the humanity! You try to win every game, that's it. No on said ever "Boy, this would have been a great year if only we had beat the Aggies by 20 instead of 10." LA, you are beginning to sound like Gary Crowton.

Hey, how did my post pointing out how this is a good win become the subject of your derision? "Hit in the mouth" simply means that they were a tougher opponent in our team (and many of our fans) apparently expected. It doesn't mean they outplayed us. It isn't even my term for describing what happened. I stole it from Sean O'Connell's post-game comments.

Anyway, a bunch of football minds, from Kyle on down to the Utah-biased commentators on ESPN 700, think that the Utes have number of things to work on after this game. It's OK for fans to think so too, even if you and SU don't think any evaluation or analysis is appropriate just because we won.

So there.


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[USS Utah]

We won't know how good the wins against Michigan and USU are until mid-season, maybe later.

We got hit in the mouth last night, played a half without two important starters (including our QB) and still won. We won a little ugly, but we won, and lived to fight another day. We have talent and we have not hit our ceiling yet. So these guys can improve a D optimism is not irrational -- as long as we keep the program's underlying philosophy in mind and don't expect it to change.

Michigan just beat the snot out of Oregon State with pretty much the same philosophy.

[LA Ute]

Michigan just beat the snot out of Oregon State with pretty much the same philosophy.

Could be a good sign. But wasn't that at Ann Arbor?


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[Old Standing ute]

Ore St is terrible. Had trouble with Weber which is picked near the bottom of the Big Sky.

[Old Standing ute]

Wilson is a mediocre qb, but it's clear he's the best we have. The first pass thrown by Kendall Thompson reminded me why we had chosen (twice) to keep him on the bench.

I agree. Is it a problem with recruiting, coaching, or our offense scheme?

Or they both looked good in H.S., but just can not make it big at the next step?

[LA Ute]

I agree. Is it a problem with recruiting, coaching, or our offense scheme?

Or they both looked good in H.S., but just can not make it big at the next step?

Here's how it seems to me. Why would a really skilled QB (think Bercovici, Goff, even Keeton) come to Utah, in light of our offense since 2008? It'll probably take 3-4 years of stability and the development of an offensive identity before we are attractive to that type of QB. Then again, some really terrific salesmanship might do the trick sooner. I know it sounds like I'm attacking the program or Kyle, but I'm just trying to be realistic about where we are.


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[Devildog]

LOL. Hit in the mouth? Vegas expected us to win by 11 and we won . . . . by 10! Oh the humanity! You try to win every game, that's it. No on said ever "Boy, this would have been a great year if only we had beat the Aggies by 20 instead of 10." LA, you are beginning to sound like Gary Crowton.

OK. However USU is not Oregon, UCLA, or USC. If we play like we did last night on both sides of the ball against those teams... we will be in trouble. I do think many people's expectations (including my own) took a shot. Really good teams finish strong. We struggled. We are not (at this point) really good.

[NorthwestUteFan]

Travis Wilson was an Elite 11 QB.

[LA Ute]

Travis Wilson was an Elite 11 QB.

Good point. But he was recruited back in 2010-2011, and by Chow. The instability at the OC position had not yet fully manifested itself -- there were 4 more OC changes to go. Now Travis is, I'm guessing, Exhibit A in our recruiting rivals' case against going to Utah: "You don't want to be like Wilson, do you? 4 coordinators in 4 years? The Utah program is not committed to offense and has no offensive identity." I think that is probably what we are up against.


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[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Good point. But he was recruited back in 2010-2011, and by Chow. The instability at the OC position had not yet fully manifested itself -- there were 4 more OC changes to go. Now Travis is, I'm guessing, Exhibit A in our recruiting rivals' case against going to Utah: "You don't want to be like Wilson, do you? 4 coordinators in 4 years? The Utah program is not committed to offense and has no offensive identity." I think that is probably what we are up against.


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If there's any offensive coordinator change at the end of this year, I'm going to be pissed.

[LA Ute]

If there's any offensive coordinator change at the end of this year, I'm going to be pissed.

I think if Whitt has a bad season and then tries to pull that again he may be fired.


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[SeattleUte]

I agree. Is it a problem with recruiting, coaching, or our offense scheme?

Or they both looked good in H.S., but just can not make it big at the next step?

[SeattleUte]

Good point. But he was recruited back in 2010-2011, and by Chow. The instability at the OC position had not yet fully manifested itself -- there were 4 more OC changes to go. Now Travis is, I'm guessing, Exhibit A in our recruiting rivals' case against going to Utah: "You don't want to be like Wilson, do you? 4 coordinators in 4 years? The Utah program is not committed to offense and has no offensive identity." I think that is probably what we are up against.


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[SeattleUte]

Toledo just won at no. 18 Arkansas.

[DrumNFeather]

Toledo just won at no. 18 Arkansas.

I bet we feel better about our team than Arkansas fans feel about theirs right about now.

[UBlender]

Just as a point of comparison, Michigan is flat out embarrassing Oregon St. Every week you get a different opponent and sometimes you get their best shot sometimes you don't; sometimes we play great, and sometimes we don't. You can't complain about a win against Div-1 opponents; that's a rule.

When Urban was here I recall him saying that it literally was a rule that this program would never not celebrate a FBS win.

[LA Ute]

Utah football: Travis Wilson expected back by Oregon as Utes seek improved run blocking, outside passing

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/2936307...-expected-back


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[SoCalPat]

I'm OK with the win. I'm aware we have issues. While we are a team with flaws, we're not a flawed team.

We need Travis back for Oregon. KT is good in spurts, but not in long stretches. I think we can beat Fresno with KT. I don't think Fresno was as bad as they showed against Ole Miss, but they weren't that impressive in their opener against Abilene Christian. I think we'd be 17-plus point favorites at RES, which means about 10-11 at Fresno. I'd have to research it, but we don't fare well as big favorites on the road under Kyle. I think we're looking at another grinder of a game in which we're never in danger of losing, yet never truly comfortably ahead (more than 14 points).

Not certain about the criticisms of Pease. We're getting pressure, and while it's not resulting in sacks, it is resulting in turnovers. We're a top 20 team in turnover margin. We were 33rd last year and 120th in 2013. If we're to improve on last year's 9-4 mark, we're probably going to need to rank even higher than we already are in that department.

I don't think Oregon is the gauntlet game we've come to expect. I say this at halftime of their game at MSU, where the Ducks can neither run nor stop the run. Vernon Adams ain't Mariota. Way too early to be down on Utah for any expectations you've had that they've failed to meet.

[NorthwestUteFan]

MSU is legit, but I like our chances against Oregon this year.

FSU will be fun, especially with Jordan Wynn and Dave Schramm on the opposing sideline. This will be a game for our running game to impose itself. I hope Joe Williams gets more than one carry. Give him a chance on that quick toss sweep.
He has the speed to make some noise.

[Devildog]

Way too early to be down on Utah for any expectations you've had that they've failed to meet.

Yeah maybe. Expectations are high for the entire fanbase. We need to compete well within the conference. I hope we use these non-conference games to prepare, but we need to battle to win this damn PAC 12 South Division. It is going to be as difficult as advertised.

[U-Ute]

Toledo just won at no. 18 Arkansas.

Holy Toledo!

I have been waiting for that phrase to be relevant again.

[U-Ute]

[Sullyute]

I got the chills watching that! I am sure it had nothing to do with the flu i have. Great video.

[mUUser]

Utes going black helmet, red jersey, white pants. This breaks the rules. Reminder of the rules:

1) Any red/white (no black) combo is ok.

2) Black/white (no red) is ok once a year.

I don't know why we keep breaking these.

The unis looked sharp. Maybe we could do red helmet, black jersey and white pants ala Falcons one game.