Tuesday, October 12. 2010Red, Blue And Pigskin
During a week in which they didn't play a game, the Utes moved up a spot in the poll. This week, #1 ranked Alabama lost and the Utes played a game. The result? No movement in one poll, and dropping in another, despite racking up over 1,000 combined yardage, and posting the most points ever for an opposing team at Jack Trice Stadium. Meanwhile a tumultuous week in Provo led to all sorts of change, including a new coach, and a new offensive style. The change fueled an emotional first quarter that let the Cougars show a young upstart team that they still aren't ready for the upper half of the MWC.
Farewell BCS
The Utes played their final regular season game against a team from an automatic qualifying conference as a member of a non-automatic conference. This was a game that many in the media were picking as a potential upset pick. Either way, most expected the Iowa State Cyclones, coming off of a 55-38 victory over Texas Tech, to provide a test for the #10 Utes. Utah is not big on doing what is expected of them. Although for awhile it seemed like they were going to keep the Cyclones in it. Eddie Wide fumbled on his own 5 yard line on the Utes first possession and were down 7-0. The Utes drove into Cyclone territory before QB Jordan Wynn got shaken up and Terrance Cain came in for the Obligatory "Terrance Cain Figgie Drive". After the Utes forced a punt, which Shaky Smithson returned to the 2 yard line, Wynn returned for a quick TD pass. However Wynn's next throw wasn't as good as he threw a terrible interception, which Iowa State later turned into another TD and a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. And that, was the end of this being a contest. Wynn got into a groove, the defense locked down the Cyclones, and the Special Teams turned it on. There was a 53 yard reverse pass from Shaky Smithson to Devonte Christopher, a TD pass from Wynn to Shaky, Asiata and Wide running TD's, and a Joe Phillips figgie to cap off a 31-0 2nd quarter, as the Utes were on their way to a completely dominating 68-27 victory over the Big XII foe. All said the Utes gained 1,026 total yards. This came from 593 offensive yards, 168 kickoff return yards, of which 103 came on Reggie Dunn's kickoff return touchdown, 156 punt return yardage, and 2 interceptions that contributed 109 yards. The 1,029 total yards was one of two pretty incredible stats from the game. The other being the fact the Utes held the Cyclones to 0 for 3rd downs. Of Iowa States 11 3rd downs, 0 of them were turned into first downs. The Utes may have lost a spot in the AP Poll, but QB Jordan Wynn, and WR Shaky Smithson, who was suffering from food poisoning during the game, were rewarded as the Mountain West Offensive, and Special Teams players of the week. Another Test, Little Learned Unfortunately the game against the Cyclones didn't teach us as much about this Utes team as we would have liked. We did learn one important lesson about this team. When things go wrong, they do not panic. Two first quarter turnovers, and an early deficit did little to phase the team. Instead they settled down and took care of business. Of course, the Utes wouldn't have put themselves in the mess to begin with if it weren't for the turnovers. Not only giving the ball up, but again not forcing turnovers. Sure the Utes did manage to get two by the end of the game, but if they want to really win the big games, they will need to win the overall turnover battle for a game, instead of being even with two giveaways and two takeaways. More importantly, the Utes must prevent early giveaways that put themselves in a hole. 45 Is The Magic Number Like it or not, in the eyes and minds of the national pundits, Utah, TCU, and Boise State will constantly be compared against one another this season. Most of the comparisons are subjective. However, there is one part of the schedule that overlaps all three teams. And while comparing against common opponents is still subjective, it's the closes we'll get to see how all three teams stack up against one another. Of course, we'll find out exactly how TCU and Utah stack up in early November. Early on in the season, Boise State went into Laramie and came out with a 45 point victory, thanks to a 51-6 victory. Last week, Wyoming went to TCU and got pasted 45-0. While a shutout is more impressive, Boise gets bonus points for a road victory. In the Wyoming showdown, TCU and Boise are essentially tied. That means Utah must beat Wyoming by at least 45 points. Utah must also limit the Cowboys to as few points as possible. Going to Wyoming late in the year is never fun. The wind will probably be swirling, and it will probably be a bitter cold. While you can never overlook an opponent, the weather should be the only trouble the Utes have. However, last year, Wyoming led the Utes at half time. It was at that point that Kyle Whittingham decided to burn true freshman Jordan Wynn's redshirt. This will be an anniversary of sorts for Wynn. Riding The Emotion San Diego State came into Provo with a 3-1 record, and lots of hype. Many thought this was their chance to show the rest of the MWC that they were ready to make a jump to the next level. They wouldn't be in the top 3, but with BYU's struggles, they were sitting their ready to stake their claim as the best of the rest. BYU went into the game after a week of turmoil. A 1-4 record led to the scapegoating, but correct decision to release defensive coordinator Jaime Hill. Coach Mendenhall took over as the coordinator, and supposedly the defense was responding. Sure enough, the Cougars were riding a wave of emotion as the game began. Fired up by the homecoming crowd, the Cougars came out and jumped on top of the Aztecs 14-0 in the first quarter. The emotional wave almost took them to a 21-0 lead before an end zone interception. As the first half came to an end, the emotional tide faded leaving the play on the field. However the early 14-0 lead was enough, as the Cougars managed to stop the Aztecs high powered offense on their final drive of the game, and escaped with a 24-21 lead. Defensively the Cougars were more fired up than they had been the last few weeks. They were running around better. A surprise from this game was freshman knucklehead Kyle Van Oy got his first start, and he showed why the coaches were so high on him to begin with. If Van Oy can keep his mind right in the class room and off the field, he could be a spark plug for this defense. While the defense had problems later in the game, as the Aztecs were able to drive the length of the field for two quick scores in the second half, the early tempo gave the Cougars enough of a cushion to halt the slide. The victory showed that the Cougars aren't just going to lie down and die. It also showed that the Aztecs aren't quite ready. Last year the Aztecs were hampered by their inability to close out games in the 4th quarter. It was something they had hoped they had put behind them. But with the loss to Missouri on the final play, and now their inability to show up on the first big MWC test, one must begin to wonder, are the Aztecs going to make the jump, or are they going to falter away? Goodbye Quarterback U The defensive coordinator wasn't the only thing changed for BYU this week. The entire offensive gameplan shifted. Gone was the quick tempo, high passing volume offense of early in the season. BYU became a running team. Two weeks ago I mentioned how RB JJ DiLuigi had become the catalyst of the offense. This week, the Cougars gameplan was built around him, and the rest of his running back mates. The Cougars ran the ball 63 times, compared to only 23 pass attempts. The running game gashed the Aztec defense for 271 yards. DiLuigi led the way with 134 yards, while Brian Kariya played the bruising change of pace role for 85 more yards. Taking the focus off of the passing game, and Jake Heaps, and putting it on the running game will be a nice way for the Cougars to let Heaps become accustomed to the game. The large amount of runs wasn't the only major change in offensive philosophy. The first 5 weeks the Cougars played a lot of no huddle, quickened pace offense. This week the Cougars made a concerted effort to run the clock down as far down as possible. Constantly they let play clock get to under 5 seconds. Accordingly the Cougars dominated the time of possession with a 45 minute to 15 minute advantage. This mentality took the Aztecs by surprise, but continued use could cause problems. Firstly the Cougars were called for 6 false starts. Most of these were caused by an offensive line that is not used to waiting so long to snap the ball. Secondly, by making it obvious that you are going to snap the ball with less than 5 seconds to go in the play clock, you make it easier for a defense, especially a blitzing defense, to guess the snap. This could also be seen in the second half, when the Aztec defense started to get into the Jake Heaps' head a bit. Smartly though, when the Aztecs were starting to get an advantage, the Cougars went back to the run. Bring On The Frogs The Cougars better hope that the emotion they had last week is able to sustain them next week, because even an improved Aztecs team is nothing like what they are facing next. Up next for the Cougars are the TCU Horned Frogs. Not only are the Horned Frogs the 5th ranked team in the nation, but they have been the Cougars personal nightmare the last two years. The last time the Cougars went to Fort Worth they were 7-0 in the middle of their "Quest for Perfection". By the time it was over not only was Perfection gone, but so was any pride the Cougars had that year. In fact the lack of speed and athleticism that has haunted the Cougars this season, was exposed for the first time in that 32-7 beat down in '08. Last year the story wasn't much different, just a different location. Same speed disadvantages. Same lack of athleticism. Same beat down. This time 38-7. Not only have the Cougars been outscored 70-14 the last two years, but the games haven't even been that close. The Horned Frogs have gained over 800 yards and forced 6 turnovers. For the first time in two years, the Cougar Fans go into this game, knowing they are not likely to win. Vegas has the Frogs as a 30 point favorite. The Cougars will just be happy to avoid the same sort of humiliation they have faced the last two years. Win or lose, the lesson that we will learn is whether the improvement that was seen in the first half against the Aztecs is here to stay, or was it just a flash in the pan. Adversity is when we really meet a team. So far in 2010, the Cougars haven't dealt with adversity well, and this will be the next opportunity to show what they are made of. This rivalry actually had more fuel added to the fire when BYU went independent. TCU Coach Gary Patterson had some harsh words when the news originally broke, telling BYU to "be careful what you wish for." Also TCU Will be looking for it's 3rd straight shutout. The Rankings Game Last week #1 Alabama fell, but they still remained ahead of the Utes. This week it may very well be Ohio State's turn to lose as the #1 team as they travel to face #18 Wisconsin. Of course, should Wisconsin win, it could very well be deja vu for the Utes, as Wisconsin may get enough votes to jump Utah, while it's doubtful Ohio State would drop below them. South Carolina however may be prime for an upset coming off of the emotional victory over the Tide. A loss would drop them back to reality and move them to the mid teens. Emotional team of the year, Michigan State, is right on the heels of the Utes, and face Illinois this week. The Illini are not very good, and how big of a win Sparty gets will determine if they are able to jump the Utes. Another game to watch is Boise State versus San Jose State. Now the Spartans have zero chance of beating the Broncos, but the comparison game will be in effect. The Utes beat the Spartans 56-3. When looking at the Utes chances to move up there are two key games. First Texas travels to Nebraska for the Big Red Revenge game. Last year in the Big XII Championship game, Nebraska had the lead as the clock read all zeros. However for some reason 1 second was added to the clock which allowed Texas to kick a game winning field goal. This year Texas is nursing a 2 game losing streak, and Nebraska is by far the better team. However this is still a big test for the Cornhuskers. A loss would definitely drop them below the Utes, and with the Longhorns out of the top 25, they wouldn't be a threat to the Utes. The second game of importance is #12 Arkansas versus #7 Auburn. Auburn should have lost last week, but escaped with a win. Arkansas only loss was a choke job versus Alabama. This game is the beginning of the overrated SEC teams, who spent the non conference part of their schedule feasting on FCS teams, starting to cannibalize one another. Over the next few weeks the number of undefeated teams will start to dwindle, and there will be room for the Utes as they enter their true test portion of the schedule. Trackbacks
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