Wednesday, October 10. 2012Red, Blue And Pigskin
Last week, all three teams had a chance to define their seasons. What did we learn about any of them? What will it mean going forward for the rest of the season? And can someone, anyone, please find a freaking kicker?
Also, the weekend, when BYU wasn't playing, was far more interesting for them, than the snooze fest of a game the Aggies and Cougars treated us to. But then again that's what happens when news comes out of a colossal coaching blunder that costs a kid at least a season. Finally we have an instance of when sports and religion do belong in the same conference. You could even say that the Lord actually did help both Utah and BYU this weekend. Questions And Possible Answers
Last week I finished with some questions for the teams in Utah. Are the Aggies the best team in state? Are they ready to flip the long written script in the state of Utah? Or are they still just a little brother who gets pesky once in a while, and still needs to know their place? No, No, Yes! Is Utah a team that struggled with inconsistencies because they lack talent to match up? Are their struggles mostly mental and can be fixed? Can they be a factor in the Pac-12 south? Not Really, Mostly Yes, Probably Not! Is BYU an offensively inept team? Have they finally found the answer to turn this team around? Can they actually turn in a legitimate good season or will they end up being a fraud with a good record? Definitely, No, Not Really, Hard to say! Is there any good football to be played in this State? Is it all just terrible and we should focus on High School? No, How bout that undefeated Syracuse, they really came out of nowhere! Answers to be clarified as the article continues on. With All Due Respect To Dennis Green Yea, that's pretty much sums up the Utah State Aggies. We want them to be improved. As Rhett mentioned in the comments last week (before proving that if you want gambling advice you should get it from me, not him), that even as Utah/BYU fans we root for Utah State to be improved in every game they aren't playing us. Truth is, the Aggies, are still the little brothers in this state. Sure once in a while they get frisky and pull a fast one over, but essentially they are still the lesser team in the state. They just can't seem to get out of their own way. Two years ago they upset the worst Bronco era BYU team in Logan. Since that moment they agreed to only do 2 for 1's with the Cougars. Lost to former Aggie Riley Nelson in heart breaking fashion, and then submit a dreadful performance and lose to the Cougars 6-3. Sure the Aggies upset arguably the worst Whittingham era Utah team earlier this season, and were sitting their with the opportunity to beat both Utah and BYU in the same season since 1974. Heck BYU even was trying to let Utah State win with their inept offense. But when it mattered the most, the Aggies employed the Prevent the Win defense. Those 25 seconds at the end of the first half, pretty much sums up the entire Aggies existence right now. Not Your Father's Quarterback U During their season opening game against Washington in 2010, the Cougars honored the 8 all american quarterbacks of their history. It brought up memories of glories past. Oh high powered offenses, record quarterbacks, and Heisman trophies. Memories that could not be possibly farther away when one watches the 2012 incarnation of the Cougars. This year's Cougars have absolutely nothing resembling an Offense. To call BYU's offense inept, is too kind. They just cannot get anything going. Against Utah State, the Cougars were able to get long drives, based on number of plays, but at no point were they ever a threat to turn any of those drives into any success. If not for the Aggies decision to go into the Prevent the Win defense, they would have absolutely been shut out. And it all starts at the QB position. It doesn't matter if it's Taysom Hill, or Riley Nelson (And we know now, it has to be Riley, more on this later) the Cougars simply do not have a QB. What the Cougars should do is just abandon any pretense of having a passing game and fully adopt the Georgia Tech option offense, with Cody Hoffman in the Stephen Hill role. Yes, Brandon Doman (who for some unknown reason is back on the field, instead of in the booth) needs to turn Quarterback U into Option U. Of Course, Taysom is more suited to the Option than Riley was because Taysom is more careful with the ball, faster than Riley, and less likely to call his number and let his running backs have the ball. In fact during the Utah State game, those long drives were successful when BYU went to the option, and they stalled when they tried to pass. Hoffman is perfect in the Stephen Hill role, because he basically is playing that role now. That's the role of the just jump up and catch the pass. Which begs the question, even with Sean Mannion out for the Beavers, how is BYU favored by 6 points, when we're not really sure they can even score 6 points? A Game Of What-If This BYU defense is unbelievably good. This is the best defense I can remember at BYU in, well, forever. It's easily the best defense in this state since Utah's 2008 defense, that produced 6 current NFL starters, as well as other backups. It's a defense that has not only gone 13 quarters without surrendering an offensive touchdown, but has only surrendered 3 points in those 13 quarters. (Shutout the 4th against Utah, Only Boise Score was a defensive touchdown, shutout Hawai'i, and gave up a field goal to Utah State.) This is a defense that will keep BYU in every game the rest of this season. It's just impossible to pick BYU to win any of those games (NOTE: The last three weeks do not count as actual games, and are instead considered practices) because of their ineptitude on the offensive side of the ball. What's interesting to think about is the defense could have been even better. And not just a little better, but a lot better. Think about this if you will. In 2010, Romney Fuga was having a good season before he suffered a season ending knee injury due to a cheap shot in the game against Nevada. Fuga was gone the rest of that season, and you could tell he was still trying to come back last season, and the early parts of this season. Coming out of high school Star Lotulelei, yes the same one who is considered one of the best defensive linemen in the country, and talk of being a top 10 draft pick this season, committed to BYU. Star, however was unable to qualify academically and was forced to go to Junior College. After he finished Junior College, and got his grades up to snuff to qualify, Star let it be known that his preference was still BYU. However under Coach Mendenhall, the Cougars have a policy not to go after Junior College players who previously failed to qualify at BYU, so Star ended up at Utah. Manti Te'o has been an absolute star at Notre Dame. He's led the Irish in tackles each of the last two years, is a for sure first round draft pick, and has been in the conversation for every line backer award during the season. Te'o also happens to be LDS. Losing Te'o to a mission, and then to BYU, was such a concern for Notre Dame, that they pushed the NCAA to institute was has improperly been labeled the Riley Nelson rule (Riley Nelson just keeps screwing BYU up.) During his recruitment Te'o constantly had BYU at the top of his list with USC, and Notre Dame, and many think Te'o would have eventually picked BYU, if BYU had not told him not to bother. During his official visit, there was an on campus incident where Manti went to a party with his cousin, and then current BYU player Shiloh Te'o. It later came out that alcohol was involved at the party. Shiloh was released from the school for the honor code violation, and Bronco and company, in an extremely nearsighted moment then told Manti not to bother looking into BYU anymore. I know that alcohol is not welcomed at BYU, and that the Cougars have the honor code to deal with. Here's the thing Manti hadn't agreed to the honor code yet. Heck, it's not even known if Te'o consumed the alcohol, or was merely present while others consumed (also an honor code violation.) But here's my question. What about forgiveness and love? And if Te'o was struggling enough with his faith to be in that situation, which place would be better for him to grow his testimony, LDS based BYU where he'd be involved strongly with the gospel, well known party school USC, or catholic based Notre Dame? Te'o eventually picked Notre Dame, and thankfully has remained strong in the gospel. That doesn't change the fact, that Bronco missed a great opportunity to practice some of those values he preaches, by nurturing the kid. Afterall, it was later that same recruiting season that Kyle Van Oy got pulled over for drinking and driving, but still got to come to BYU. But could you imagine this defense with Kyle Van Oy as it's third best player? What if in addition to Kyle Van Oy, and Ziggy Ansah, who has been playing completely out of his mind this season, the Cougars had a healthy Romney Fuga, Star Lotulelei, and Manti Te'o? Oh by the way, the Phil Steele mid season all american team was announced today, and Van Oy was 2nd team, while Star and Te'o were first team all americans. Oh what could have been. A Colossal Mistake Supposedly Riley Nelson was going to be the starter as soon as he was healthy, but it was always nice for BYU fans to know they had Taysom Hill if, and when, Nelson's bad, reportedly cracked, back ever got injured again. That is no longer the case. With just over 1 minute left to go in the game, facing first down and 10, Utah State having only 1 time out, and victory assured as long as BYU didn't turn the ball over, the Cougars ran a quarterback draw. This was a stupid decision before the full effect of it became known. The game is over. Take a knee, run out the clock. By running a quarterback draw you are only tempting fate, and increasing the possibility for a fumble.... or worse. Turns out it was worse. On that play Taysom Hill injured his knee. He suffered damage to his LCL, and a torn hamstring. An injury that will require surgery and possibly 6 months before Hill will be able to practice. It's also the kind of injury that many report takes almost a year or two before the player starts feeling like they did prior. For a qb who relies on running the ball this is a devastating injury. Bronco and Doman are blaming miscommunication, saying that after the initial play call, they had changed the play to instead be "Victory Formation" only Taysom had already turned from the sideline to make the call in the huddle. That brings up two questions? 1. Why was anything other than "Victory Formation" called to begin with, and 2. why didn't they call a timeout immediately? Now the Cougars face 10th ranked, and undefeated Oregon State Beavers for their Blackout Game debut this weekend. Although, the Beavers themselves are suffering quarterback knee related issues, as their starting Quarterback Sean Mannion underwent knee surgery and will be out about 4 weeks. Who's The Best Okay, so Utah State beat Utah by 7 in Overtime. Utah then beat BYU three times in a single game. BYU then followed that up with a three point snoozefest win against the Aggies? Obviously the transitive property is broken in this state. But one thing is clear. Football in this state is kind of bad. At least on the Offensive side of the ball. Three Steps Forward, One Step Back On Thursday the Utes lost 38-28 to the Trojans of USC. This despite two early turnovers gave Utah a 14-0 lead a mere three minutes into the game. Unfortunately for the Utes, the Trojans were simply a superior team and outscored them 38-14 over the rest of the game, with 7 of those points coming in garbage time for the Utes. The score, though doesn't tell the whole story of the game. After being embarrassed and flat the game before the Utes came out with fire and passion. At Halftime the Utes trailed by 3, and were statistically even with the Trojans. The defense shut the Trojans out for the third quarter, and began to show some of the flashes that has been expected of them. Star Lotulelei had a magnificent night. He forced All American Center candidate Khaled Holmes into multiple mistakes, and eventually caused USC to double and triple team him. Offensive Brian Johnson called the best half of his brief career. Adding into the playbook multiple new plays, and showing elements of the spread that have been missing the last couple years. John White was clearly healthy. Unfortunately the Utes also made many mental mistakes. Dallin Rogers fumbled deep in his on territory that led to a USC touchdown. A borderline late hit on Matt Barkley extended what turned out to be another TD drive. An ineligible man downfield wiped out a TD play on a brilliant trick play for the Utes. Finally Brian Blechen must still be high as he had a terrible dreadful game. He dropped an interception in his own end zone, that would have stopped what ended up being a USC Field Goal drive. He also missed his assignment to help out Ryan Lacy on two of USC's Touchdown passes. Blechen has been dreadful since coming back from his suspension. The Trojans are the superior team. While the Utes have Star Lotulelei who will be a first round pick, the Trojans could have five or 6 first round picks on their team. There is no shame in losing to the better team. I even said last week, that Utah didn't necessarily have to win, although that would definitely be preferred, but just seeing Utah come out with fire, and make progress is a nice site, for a season that was sitting on the brink. The Turning Point Finally the boneheaded decision to tighten up the offensive play calling in the second half absolutely doomed the Utes. I understand Kyle and Brian's thinking. Down by three, statistically even with the Trojans at half time, getting the ball first, the thinking is, if the Utes can put together a long sustained clock eating drive, and simply score a field goal they'd be tied. A Defensive stop, another clock eating drive, and they could have went into the fourth quarter leading. The problem with that thinking is that what made the offense so effective in the first half, was the dynamic play calling. By abandoning the philosophy of the first half, the Utes became predictable. USC also is explosive and one big play later in the 4th, the Utes were staring at a 10 point deficit, requiring Jon Hays to make plays. Requiring Jon Hays to make plays is never a place the Utes want to be. Sure enough, Hays pressed, made bad throws, and a pick six later it's a 17 point deficit. View From The Red Zone Granted the outcome of the game was disappointing, but I couldn't help but marvel at the moment. The USC Trojans, College Football Royalty, was playing in the state of Utah for the first time since 1917. Since that 1917 game, the Trojans have won all of their championships. All of the tradition that USC has become known for has happened since then. This is the type of team that never would have come to Utah just three years ago. Now all the pageantry of the Trojans, all the tradition, was there in grand display. In view from us was the possible #1 overall pick in Matt Barkley, and multiple other future NFL players. This was a tremendous moment to be a part of. The marvel and spectacle of having teams like the Trojans come into the state will not sustain the fan base long, but for that one night, it was a spectacular moment to be a part of. This was a moment I will always remember, and to top it off, it was also the first game I got to attend with my son. Granted in a few years my son won't remember it, because he's currently less than a year, and probably neither will my daughter, but I will always remember the first Pac-12 home game against USC. The Utes get to follow that up with a trip to the Rose Bowl this week. Think about the state of the two football teams of Utah right now. Teams like USC and UCLA are required to play in this state every two years. Oregon and Stanford will also be coming to the state over the next few years. But it's not just the Utes. BYU will be having some major teams come to Provo to play them. Between 2012 and 2015 the following teams are currently scheduled to play games in this state: USC, Stanford, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame. That doesn't include an unscheduled home date for BYU against Texas and Wisconsin. Now factor in TV exposure. These are the channels for Utah and BYU games during the first three weeks of October: Espn, Espn, Espn, Abc, Fox, and NBC. In fact, of the 14 games involving Utah and BYU (counting the Holy War only once) since the start of the season through October 20th, 11 of those games have been, or will be, shown on ESPN/ABC, FOX, or NBC. Quite a difference from what football fans in this state had to look forward to as recently as 2010. Continuing The Progress While the Utes made progress this week, they now must continue the progress as they head into the Rose Bowl. The Bruins are much improved over last season, but have been wildly inconsistent. They've been lead by redshirt freshman Brett Hundley, who is a dual threat quarterback. Something the Utes have struggled with so far this season, and will continue to struggle with the linebacker situation the Utes have. Where the Bruins struggle though is keeping Hundley clean. The Bruins are near the bottom of the nation in sacks allowed, and tackles for loss. The Bruins will also be without one of Hundley's main WR targets who will be out with an injury. One question for the Utes will be at the QB position. It's clear from watching the game, that Jon Hays is not going to win you any games. While he is much improved from last season, he's still not quite at the speed of Pac-12 defenses. His decision making is typically just a tad slow. Jon Hays will not be able to lead the team back from any deficits, and will not be able to make the plays necessary to win games. However on thing Jon Hays also won't do, is make the big mistake that loses them the game. He will make mistakes when he's put in position that he has to make a play (USC pick six), but he won't cost you the game. Now there are rumbling by fans to start Travis Wilson, and rumors from the up on the hill that Wilson will be getting more time. Wilson should get more plays, however if the Utes decide to start Wilson, that means they have punted on the season. Wilson is not ready. Wilson is very raw. Wilson has not shown any ability in his limited time to read a defense. He's only asked to thrown when they have to (such as on 4th and 9 against USC), or short 3-4 yard routes. When he is asked to throw he clearly locks onto his receiver at the snap of the ball. Jon Hays may not be the answer to the Utah offensive struggles, but he's also not the problem. It's not Jon Hays' fault the offensive line is a sieve. It's not Jon Hays fault that his WR's cannot hold onto the ball. Hays has shown an ability to move the ball, and make the throws. Just look at the USC game. Granted Hays threw the pick six that put the Trojans up 17, and effectively lost the game, but that was not the back breaking play of the game. The fumble by Dallin Rogers, with Utah up 10, that stalled a Utah drive, the ineligible receiver downfield, the three and out after halftime, in which only one pass was called, and the 83 yard Touchdown by USC were the back breaking plays. The pick six is what happens after the game has been lost, and you ask Hays to do too much. The Future Is Not Now Travis Wilson may be the future of the team, and needs to get some playing time. But he clearly is not ready to be the guy, yet, and the future is not here yet. Wilson still has a lot of growing to do. The past two games he was brought into the game in the most pressure free situations he will ever face in college, and it was clear the coaching staff had very little faith in him. They would not let him open it up, only calling a single pass greater than 10 yards, and that occured because the Utes were facing a 4th and 9. Look the Utes are only 2-3. They are only 1 game out of first in the Pac-12 south. Last year they were sitting at this same position, with Jon Hays, and ended up 8-5. Granted the Pac-12 is improved this season, but the Utes have also played the toughest games on their schedule. The future schedule is not easy, but, thanks to Sean Mannion's injury, there isn't a game left on their schedule that you can look at and say is a guaranteed lost, thanks to the Utah defense. If Utes are ready to punt on this season, then start Wilson, don't let Hays see another play, and you ride with every single mistake he'll make. However, if the Utes are still hoping to make a bowl game, and show some fire to this season, you don't start Wilson. Instead you increase the amount of "package" plays he has, including an increase in the number of passes you call for him. Abolish Kickers Of course on bad thing about that much exposure is we're seeing just how bad the kicking game is. All three FBS teams this season have struggled mightily with the kicking game. Both USU losses can be attributed to missed Kicks. The Holy War was decided on two missed field goals. Utah missed an opportunity to win the Utah State game in regulation because of a missed field goal. During a 30 hour time frame from 7:00 p.m. Thursday, to just before midnight on Friday, Kickers in this state went 2 of 7 on Field goals. That doesn't include a missed extra point, and a failed fake field goal attempt, which was only being called because the kickers suck. The longest successful kick was 34 yards, meaning the offense was at the 17 yard line. Anytime the offense is within the red zone a Field goal is more like losing 4 points than gaining 3 points. Sad thing is, it's not just the Utes, Cougars, and Aggies. Two of the misses were by the USC Kicker. Two weeks ago against the Cougars, Boise State bypassed short field goal attempts to go for it on 4th four different times, including once at the 1 yard line. In games involving top 25 teams this past week, Kickers went 41/56. That means among the best teams in the nation less than 3 out of every 4 attempts are being converted. Add in all of 1-A and I'm sure that number is in the mid 60 percentage. What's strange is the pro game is seeing some fresh young kickers making impacts this season. 4 rookie kickers are being effective this season, led by the St. Louis Rams' Greg Zeurlein who is 13 of 13 this season with including 4 greater than 50 yards. Two weeks ago Zeurlein became the first kicker ever to kick field goals of greater than 50, and greater than 60 yards in the same game. The way the college kicking game is this season, we may not see a fresh batch of kickers able to complete that feat anytime soon. Locally, it's clear, that it's time to forget about the kicking game altogether. The teams need to go into every drive, knowing that they are clearly four play drives. It's time to abolish the kickers. From On High Excuse the religious pun for a moment, but something happened during the LDS General Conference this weekend that greatly affects the Utes and Cougars. President Monson announced the lowering of the missionary age for men from 19 to 18. While this decision was made for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with football, this will greatly benefit both the Cougars and the Utes as they both have a lot of LDS recruits. First off, this helps remove a problem that occurs when a high schooler is 18 when his freshman season begins. It leaves both the player and the program in a weird sort of limbo where they really don't know what to do with them. If it's a good player, the program doesn't want to necessary start him if they are thinking of leaving on a mission, because after a season they will lose them for two years. For example, the Utes with Chase Hansen this season, and the Cougars with Ben Olson a few years ago. Granted Olson later said he wouldn't have went on his mission had he started his freshman season, but he never let that be known while he was here. Olson then went on a mission, and signed with UCLA. However, good players must get on the field, so missionaries tend to lose two seasons, only one of which can be retrieved via redshirt. In connection with the above, this now means that high school, LDS athletes interested in a mission can now commit, go directly on their mission, and come back as 20 year old freshmen with four straight seasons ahead of them, and not have to interrupt their careers, or possibly put off a mission altogether because of football. The coaches for both schools, will also have an easier time managing scholarships and recruitment classes, because there will be less "what if" possibilities with possible missionaries. Most likely, the teams will know when the commitment is made, exactly what the athletes intentions are. The LDS mission will always be an interesting aspect of football in this state. Now it's just a little bit easier to deal with. Trackbacks
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