Thursday, November 20. 2014Red, Blue And Pigskin
Remember as the Utes suffered through the first couple years in the Pac-12 and the common wisdom was that Utah was lucky to have missed Oregon and Stanford during the first two year rotation, and they'd really be hurting once those two came up on the schedule?
2011 & 2012 Utes versus Cal and Washington 1-3 2013 & 2014 Utes versus Oregon and Stanford 2-2 Fortunately past results are not a guarantee of the future, or I would really be worried when Stanford drops off next year and Cal and Washington are back along with Oregon. (Let's be honest though, I'm always worried anyways.) Meanwhile it's Senior Weekend in the state of Utah as all three Division 1-A teams play their final home game of the year. (The two Division 1-AA teams had their final home game last week, and final game this week.) For many of the seniors it's the end of a way of life. After this season most of them won't ever play organized football again. Also for the first time since 2011 all three teams are officially bowl-eligible. I Don't Know What To Say Anymore
Well, at least Byu officially became bowl eligible, even if it wasn't a concern considering this week's opponent. Outside of that nugget was there really anything remotely important that happened during the Unlv game? Mostly it was just a confirmation of things we've already known. A dreadful Unlv team did just enough to remind us that Byu, especially their defense has some major holes, and it was probably going to be the reason that Byu lost a game even if Hill hadn't gone down. Offensively Byu did enough to remind us that the offense hasn't been the problem since Hill went down. Christian Stewart continues to show us that while Taysom Hill may have been more athletic, and more dynamic of a player, Stewart is the better quarterback, and by far the best passer Byu has had in 5 years. I don't know if it's because the rest of the running backs have improved, or because Stewart isn't taking their carries they way Hill would, but it's nice that for the 2nd time this year the Cougars played without Williams for essentially the whole game (he was injured on the first play against UCF) and once again the Cougar running game didn't miss a beat in a committee role, rushing for over 250 yards with Lasike, Hine, and Carter carrying the bulk of the load. In the end, the Cougars ended up with an unmotivated, and uninspiring victory over an uninspiring opponent to finally get that 6th win. But hey against Unlv, it could always be worse. I'm Not Even Mad At You I could go on, again, about how much I hate these prostitution games, and how this week's opponent may be the worst opponent to come into the state of Utah to play Utah or Byu in over a decade, but I won't. I know everyone plays these games (just look at the SEC slate this week.) Hopefully the playoff will change that, but it is what it is. I also know the official excuse is that this was a scramble pickup when Hawaii canceled their contract a couple years ago, and it's hard to find a November 1 and done with only a couple years ago (even if this is only partly true, since an FCS team would always have been on the schedule.) So I'm just going to ignore the opponent and focus on the seniors. (But seriously, Savannah State????) Saturday night will be the last time that approximately 25 seniors play in a Byu uniform. Some of the names are recognizable as they've been solid contributors to the team for a while like Craig Bills, and Alani Fua. Some of them have only been known for a short time but still made quite an impact like Jordan Leslie and Christian Stewart. Some of them have been disappointing and the target of fans ire like Skye PoVey. Some of them are names you don't even recognize, because they've been mostly on the Scout team like Kevin O'Mary and Quinn Lawlor. Some of them have suffered serious injuries during their career for the program like Devin Mahina. And two of the are the final reminder of the Iggy's Press Conference with Ross Apo and Zac Stout. Either way Saturday will be the last chance that Byu fans have to give appreciation to these players. The full list of Seniors this year is as follows: Michael Alisa - RB, Ross Apo - WR, Scott Arellano - P, Craig Bills - DB, Josh Carter - DL, Robertson Daniel - DB, Alani Fua - LB, Edward Fusi - OL, Harvey Jackson - DB, Jordan Johnson - DB, Marques Johnson - DL, Solomone Kafu - OL, Paul Lasike, - RB, Quinn Lawlor - OL, Jordan Leslie - WR, Devin Mahina - TE, Keanu Nelson - WR, Kevin O'Mary - DS, Skye PoVey - DB, Trevor Samson - K, Christian Stewart - Q, Zac Stout - LB, Brock Stringham - OL, De'Ondre Wesley - OL, Michael Yeck - OL. Since it's a guarantee these seniors will win their final home game, the only question left is how many fans out there haven't just been beaten down so badly this year that they are willing to suffer the weather and the atrocious opponent to actually attend? Good news is, you can get a ticket for $3. Throwback Football Remember before TV became such a force on football, and you didn't get so many stoppages. Broadcast windows used to be set for 3 hours, but you knew that the game would be closer to 3 and a half hours, instead of now where broadcast windows are 3 and a half hours and you know games will be closer to 3 hours and 45 minutes? Remember before offenses were given easy mode and defensive battles were common? Remember when defenses were dominant and casual fans would complain that offenses weren't able to move the ball as well? Remember when scoreboard operators didn't get carpel tunnel from having to add points every 90 seconds? Saturday's tilt between the Utes and the Cardinal was a throwback to those days. In a game that went into double overtime, and still didn't see either team get 300 yards of total offense. A game where the final combined score was only 47 points. A game that lasted 3 hours and 15 minutes. Again a game that went into double overtime. Ironically it was a game that didn't seem like it was going to be that way after the very first offensive possession when Stanford took the ball, and marched 70 yards down the field in just under 4 minutes. This was a classic field position game the whole way. A game where one team would put together two or three first downs, punt from near midfield, and pin the other team deep, just to see that team return the favor. If you don't like hard nosed, hard hitting, defensive football, this wasn't the game for you. It's also what makes Utah and Stanford so drastically different from their Pac-12 peers. This is a game that saw a 10 play drive take 5:55, a 9 play drive take 5:14, an 8 play drive take 5:03, and a 14 play drive take 8:44. That's 25 minutes of play (almost an entire half of football) in those 4 drives. Combined points allowed in those 4 drives? 0 None of those drives more devastating than the 8:44 drive by Stanford, who got the ball with 10:22 seconds, took the clock down to under 2:00. Go the ball to the Utah 34 yard line, and ended up punting rather than trusting their kicker to attempt a 51 yard field goal, which was 3 yards longer than his career long. In the 2nd OT Stanford was forced to attempt a 51 yarder, and their kicker drilled it with room to spare. Which basically sums up exactly the way Utah football has been this year. This was a throwback to the 3 yards and a cloud of dust games. Punters Are People Too Tom Hackett has become one of my favorite Utes. It's weird to say that about a punter, but then again it's also weird to see opposing teams game plan for a punter, and it's also extremely weird to see teams frequently drop a 2nd returner back on punts. But another reason Hackett is fun is because he is kind of crazy. As evidence I give you this quote:
Obviously the Australian Hackett doesn't understand why we make such a fuss over this football thing. Since Hackett's only a sophormore, I really want to see this Bacon thing somehow turn into a gimmick for him next year. Cardiac Alert This season for Utah has been filled with close calls, and tight games. Utah is just as close to 3-7 or 9-1 as they are to 7-3. The one team that has outdone them on the cardiac scale this year is the Arizona Wildcats. Whether it's escaping UTSA and Nevada with 1 score victories, or catching a Hail Mary to be Cal, or seeing a questionable celebration penalty derail an Oregon comeback drive. Seeing Usc successfully ice their field goal kicker not once, but twice in the same game during a loss, or watching the Huskies fumble the ball as they go for a game winning first down. The Wildcats have seen their share of close, cardiac games this year. After seeing the nation's leading runner the past two years carry a QB deficient team, Arizona has flipped the script a bit this year. With their running game still good, but closer to average, they have been led by redshirt freshman QB Anu Solomon. Solomon has been a bit of a surprise this year and already has over 3000 yards and 25 TD's, including 4 games with at least 4 TD's. Solomon gives the Wildcats a QB in the same vein as Marcus Mariota for Oregon, Brett Hundley for Ucla, and Taylor Kelly for Arizona State. Of course all three of those guys are experienced veterans, whereas Solomon is a young freshman who still plays like a freshman at times, and especially as the opposition increases. Solomon is still struggling with the Zone read offense that Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez runs. On top of that, Solomon has seemed to run into a bit of a freshman wall lately, as he has struggled more and more as the season progresses. The Wildcats will try to attack the second level of the Utes defense. They will attempt to utilize screens and crossing routes to move the Linebackers out of position to open up the middle of the field. That's why the news yesterday that LB Gionni Paul will miss the rest of the season to have surgery on his foot is extremely hurtful. Paul was an instinctual beast of a linebacker. He's currently the leading interception man, and always seemed to be in the right place. Though it was clear he's been hampered the last couple weeks. Hopefully getting his foot looked at now will give him time to come back 100% for his senior season. Without Paul, the LB corps for the Utes will need to step up. At the beginning of the season I called Arizona "the biggest fraud in the Pac-12 the last 2 years." Each of those two years they weren't very good, but still managed to get to 8 wins. This year, they are actually a good team. They are a reminder of the West Virginia teams that made Rich-Rod a top commodity in the coaching circles. That said, much like the Utes, they are a team that has lived on the edge all season long, and much like the Utes, it won't take much to push them over. The question is whether Utah's defense will push Arizona, or will the Wildcats offense send the Utes over the edge. Sayonara Seniors The Utes have 18 seniors on their roster this seaon. 17 of which they will be recognizing Saturday for Senior Day. (The Utes are going to get a Medical Hardship waiver to allow Tevin Carter to come back next season) 1 of whom has an oustide shot at being back for next year's Senior Day (Kaelin Clay has a possibility, though an outside one, of also getting a Hardship Waiver for a missed season to injury 2 years ago.) The 4 year seniors in this class were part of the first class of recruits to play all 4 years in the Pac-12. They were the first class to be recruited after the announcement the Utes would join the Pac-12, and during Utah's final year in the MWC. The Redshirt Seniors would be the last group to be recruited while Utah was thinking they would always be MWC. This group includes two former freshmen All-American Safeties (Eric Rowe, Brian Blechen), the son of my favorite NFL player ever, one of my all-time Utes, and someone who unfortunately won't be playing in the game due to injury (Dres Andersen), A WR turned defensive end stud, who has also changed their name while here (Nate While not all of them lived up to the hopes of fans (Andre Lewis, Marc Pouvave), they were all part of the Utes transition from MWC to Pac-12, and will get their moment in the spotlight. Of course none of them will get a louder cheer from the Muss than one of their own. Someone who impressed the coaches during the Muss flag game during the Red-White spring game and given a chance to eventually earn a walk-on special teams spot (Ryan Petersen). The full list of seniors: Dres Anderson - WR, Brian Blechen - DB, Kaelin Clay - WR/KR/PR, Wykie Freeman - DB, Jacoby Hale - LB, Sese Ianu - DT, Chandler Johnson - DB, Andre Lewis - WR, Geoffrey Norwood - WR, Nate Orchard - DE, Davion Orphey - DB, Ryan Petersen - WR, Marc Pouvave - OL, Greg Reese - DE, Eric Rowe - DB, Junio Salt - OL, Westlee Tonga - TE. In addition to the group of Seniors don't be surprised if this isn't the last home game for at least 1, and an outside shot at two other players. If I were a betting man (which I am), the smart money says Booker leaves for the NFL this year. RB don't get drafted extremely high anymore. Other than showing an improvement with holding onto the football, there isn't much more that Booker can do next year to improve his stock. He's the Pac-12 leading rusher in conference games. He has over 1100 yards and 8 td's on the season, and has shown that he can carry the rock 25-30 times a game against some of the nations best. Add in the recent Todd Gurley injury, the Marcus Lattimore retirement, and the short shelf life of running backs in general, and it wouldn't be any surprise to see Booker leave, even if he's only considered a 4th - 5th round guy. The other junior that his getting some NFL love is tackle Jeremiah Poutasi. Poutasi is raw, but has been turning heads since his freshman debut against Usc three years ago. Poutasi is more likely to return though. General consensus seems to be that, unlike Booker, Poutasi would be a project pick this year, and actually can do more to greatly increase his stock next season if he returns and continues to develop. Speaking of Poutasi, here's an article on how he turned his life around to even be where he's at now. Some Love For The Aggies I'll admit, I don't give Utah State the attention they deserve. A Lot of that comes from their tendency to attempt to gain relevancy, but ultimately fall short under Gary Andersen. They've managed to change that under Matt Wells, and are actually doing a remarkable job this season. They are on their 4th string QB up in Logan, and are still winning games. The Aggies are wondering why Utah and Byu have such a problem with this QB injury thing. The last 4 years for the Aggies arguably was their most successful in history, and once again this year's group of Seniors has them in the hunt for an MWC championship. They will be celebrating at least 18 Seniors, the one question is Chuckie Keeton who is eligible for a medical redshirt, but one could seriously ask whether he'd want to come back again. The full list: La'Ron Bennett - CB, Jaron Bentrude - P/K, Ronald Butler - WR, Jefferson Court - TE, Nick Diaz - PK, Craig Harrison - QB, Joe Hill - RB, Shaan Johnson - WR, Elvis Kamana-Matagi - NG, Chuckie Keeton - QB, BJ Larsen - DE, Rashard Stewart - CB, Brian Suite - S, Joe Summers - OC, Frankie Sutera - S, Bill Vavau - OL, Zach Vigil - LB, Bryce Walker - OL, Kevin Whimpey - OL. From Hot To Cold Ever since the Utes started in the Pac-12 one of the things I've really enjoyed is when a warm weather team has come into Utah in late November. Especially when it really cold or stormy. Last year, the two November games were actually some of the warmer ones of the year. This week, not so much. Even though it's an afternoon kickoff at 1:30 MST, broadcast on ESPN, the Wildcats will be leaving the confines of their 70 degrees to come to a game that will be about 42 degrees at kickoff. To make matters worse it's also expected to be a bit rainy during the game. The same can also be said for the Tigers of Savannah State. They'll be leaving the 70 degree weather of Georgia for a 1:00 p.m. MST kickoff in Provo, UT that, not surprisingly, will also be 42 degrees and rainy. If you are one of those who don't want to brave the cold and the rain, to watch Byu play a dreadful opponent, or if you only go long enough to salute the Seniors and then immediately leave, this is the annual Byu Tv broadcast. Ask Red, Blue And Pigskin Since I haven't received any rules related, or game related questions lately, I haven't had this segment. However, this week I wanted to post a little back and forth with Rhett that came from when he decided to
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