Monday, August 26. 2013Red, Blue And Pigskin
It's Game Week! There's an extra hop in the step of football fans everywhere because we are finally, finally, FINALLY in Game Week. There's one guarantee for this week, somebody in the state of Utah will not make it to week 2 undefeated.
After Chucky
The Utes are currently favored in this game by 2 points over Utah State. When you factor in the 3 point home field advantage, essentially Vegas thinks on a neutral field, the Aggies would win by 1 point. There is a lot of trepidation from Utah fans regarding this game. Many fans calling this a statement game for the rest of the season. There is an extreme amount of enthusiasm coming out of Logan for this game. Many thinking this will be a sign of the Aggies picking up right where they left off. In the media, this game is being referred to as and extremely tough test for the Utes to start the season. There is a common theme among all parties for their particular reasoning. The Aggies won last year, and they have Chucky Keeton. I briefly mentioned this in last week's preview but last basing this game off of last year isn't exactly wise. Last year was a perfect storm moment. The Aggies, with their best team arguably ever, had a chip on their shoulder, fighting for in state relevance played their absolute best game. Utah with their worst team of the past 10 years, admittedly by some players, were too busy overlooking the Aggies, played one of their absolute worst possible games, and lost their Quarterback to injury during the game. And yet the game went into overtime before Utah State won the game. Not to take anything away from the Aggies because they were the absolute better team last year, but I don't think the Utes will be overlooking them. So essentially the hope of the Aggies rely on Chucky Keeton, because after Chucky, there isn't a lot in this matchup that favors the Aggies. It's certainly not the coaching staff who is filled with a lot of first year coaches. About the only matchup that you can point to is the Aggies returning all 5 starters on the OL against a DL filled with 4 new starters. About Chucky That's not to say that Chucky Keeton isn't the type of player to rest your hopes on. During last year's game he torched and embarrassed the Utah defense. There were many plays, where a defender would get their hands on Keeton just to see him escape and extend the play. The Utah defense was never able to adjust to Keeton. And despite the best efforts of the MUSS, the North End Zone, and the rest of Rice-Eccles Stadium, I wouldn't count on the crowd getting to Keeton. This is a kid whose first game in college was on the road against defending National Champion Auburn. This is a kid who has played in Norman against the Sooners, and in Wisconsin against the Badgers. In all three matchups, while his team eventually lost, it wasn't due to Keeton struggling. Keeton is the best Quarterback in the state, and while that's partially due to the fact he's also the most experienced, a lot has to do with his ability to keep plays alive. It will be up to the Utah back seven, to make sure to stay on their assignments while Keeton is running around back there. Debuting The New Offense Stop me if you've heard this one before, but the Utes are entering the season with a new play caller. This will be the 6th play caller since 2008. After Ludwig in '08, Dave Schramm in '09, Aaron Roderick in '10, Norm Chow in '11, and Brian Johnson in '12, the Utes are really really hoping that Dennis Erickson can not only be successful in '13, but that he'll stick around for a while. Dennis Erickson is trying to bring in a fast temp no huddle offense. (Consider USU is going no huddle, as is BYU, Matt Wells said it best, Huddle is a four letter word.) And while Erickson was a disaster at this latest couple coaching stops, his offenses at those places were still top notch. The problem Dennis Erickson had as head coach was a lack of overall team discipline. Look no further than Vontaze Burfict as an example. During his time there Burfict was just as likely to get a 15 yard penalty as he was a major defensive play. At Utah this isn't an issue for two reasons. First, let's be completely honest, Utah hasn't been an overly disciplined team for quite a while. Secondly, as Offensive Coordinator, team discipline, and making sure your players go to class aren't as much Erickson's concern, nor is making sure you have something resembling a defense. All Erickson has to focus on is the Offense, and mentoring Brian Johnson. One Thing Is Correct For all the hand-wringing and teeth gnashing from Utah fans about this game, they were right about one thing, or half right. This game is a statement game for the Utes, but only if they lose, or struggle. If the Utes win, it shows that last year was a fluke in regards to the Aggie game, and it's what they're supposed to do. It doesn't say a dang thing about whether the Utes are ready for Pac-12 play this season, or if they'll be much improved from past season. However, if the Utes lose, or if the Utes even struggle with the Aggies this season, Utes fans will long for last year's 5-7. Kudos To Tom Holmoe I've given BYU and their Athletic Director Tom Holmoe a lot of crap the past few years about their scheduling since going Independent, but there is one thing I must give Holmoe props for. Each of the last three years, Holmoe has done a great job of being a schedule Houdini with the first game of the year, and playing the media for all they've got. Since going Independent, the Cougars have had season openers of @Ole Miss, Home versus Washington State, and this year they open @Virginia. Those three teams all have two things in common. First, all three teams royally and completely sucked at the time the game was played. Second, and most important for Byu, all three of these teams were in a power conference. Since media tends to prioritize teams as such: Power Conference Good Teams > Boise State > Power Conference Terrible Teams > Everybody Else, a win by Byu would easily allow them to pull the wool over the medias eyes with a victory, and guarantee that for at least a week, the Cougars would be talked about in a favorable light. So to Tom Holmoe I tip my hat. While everyone else around the country is busy doing either crappy, prostitution games against FCS teams that will do the team absolutely no good, or has scheduled a massive showdown kickoff game against a really good team, he has figured out how to work the system for the most bang, with the least amount of risk. It really is a smart move. And while Byu Does open with Wisconsin at home in 2017, and At Nebraska in 2016, the rest of their season openers between now and 2019 consist of Virginia, Connecticut and Arizona, so it's a trend that Holmoe doesn't intend to stop. Victory In Virginia In truth there really isn't much that should prevent the Cougars coming out of this game with a victory. While it may not be as definitive a victory as it was last year against Washington State, the Cougars should win this game by at least two touchdowns. Much like last year against Washington State, and the year before against Ole Miss, a victory won't really tell us anything about how well the Cougars will be prepared to face their schedule. Virginia really is not that good of a team. They are coming off a 4 win season last year, and are expected to once again be a cellar-dweller in the ACC. The Cavaliers lost both of last year's quarterbacks, and have major question marks on both sides of the ball. While many think that head coach Mike London is the right man for the job to rebuild the Cavaliers, it's not expected to be this season. Add in Bronco's propensity for some of his best coaching of the year to happen in game 1 of the season, the Cougars should be able to get some good work in, to prepare for a visit from the Longhorns in week 2. Of course, if this game ends up a lot like the 2011 game against Ole Miss, where Kyle Van Oy heroics were required to escape with a victory, than the Cougars may be in for a rough time. However, much like Utah versus the Aggies, not much will be learned from a victory. Jake Heaps Tracker Speaking of prostitution games, the Kansas Jayhawks, led by Saint Jake Heaps, open the season against the University of South Dakota. The Jayhawks, whose own coach referred to them as a dumpster fire, figured wins may be in short supply this year so they went and schedule South Dakota who went 1-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference last year. Of course, this means that Jake Heaps, who racked up great stats against crappy crappy teams as a freshman in 2010, should put up some impressive numbers, even if Kansas has a dearth of talent. If you're interested in following along with the Jake Heaps tracker, be sure to tune in to the Kansas Jayhawks channel Saturday at 5 p.m. Yes there really is a Kansas Jayhawk channel. Although in truth it's simply a specially branded Espn 3. Best Way To Spend The Weekend Since it's the first game of the week, it takes a moment to fall back into proper habits, so with that said I present a guide to opening week. On Wednesday, treat the wife to a nice dinner. At the end of the night, mention you look forward to seeing her again in 5 months. On Thursday, catch a little bit of the North Carolina @ South Carolina game, starting at 4 on ESPN, as you wait for the Aggies and Utes to kick off at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports 1 (219 on Direct Tv, 150 on Dish). When the game gets over, you can listen (if you are on your way home from the game), or watch the Usc at Hawaii game to finish the night off on CBS Sports Network at 9. In truth that should be a terrible game, so I'd recommend, ending with Rutgers @ Fresno State on Espn instead. Friday offers nothing of quality to watch, with the only game featuring two 1-A teams being Western Michigan at Michigan State, so you can recover from staying up late the night before. Saturday it really begins. Get up at 8 for College Gameday on Espn (the first hour on ESPN U just isn't worth it.) Take advantage of the lesser early slate by flipping through the games. Inevitably there will be a game that's closer than it should be. The most likely candidate for non blowout will be Purdue at Cincinnati on ESPN U at 10, but that's mainly because it's two evenly matched, i.e. bad, teams. At 1:00 as the first round of games end, kill the last 30 minutes before BYU and Virginia, by watching Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma State, an on the rise, but still mediocre and probably overrated SEC team, vs a top 15 Bix XII team. It'll be on Abc/Espn2. At 1:30, start flipping to EspnU and add the BYU game into your rotation of games. Also keep your eye on the Syracuse/Penn State tilt on Abc/Espn2 starting at 1:30. The true meat of the day should begin before the Byu game ends, and that starts with two time defending national champion, Alabama versus perennially overrated Virginia Tech on Espn starting at 3:30. Sadly the Alabama hype train is the only decent game during the midday. After the Alabama snoozer, when the media gushing and love fest on ESPN gets to be too much, switch over to Abc at about 6 for the Georgia vs. Clemson game. It's the only top 10 matchup this weekend, with two legitimate dark horse contenders to the National Championship game. Enjoy that by itself for an hour, because at 7 on ESPN, LSU takes on TCU, and an hour after that at 8 Boise Tate plays their annual first week, "Look we don't just play scrubs" game at Washington on Fox Sports 1. When those games end, you can finish off the night with the end for the Nevada/UCLA game on the Pac-12 Network. On Sunday, since the NFL hasn't started, there are actually two options to choose from after your Sabbath day duties are fulfilled. Ohio at 9th ranked Louisville at 1:30 on Espn has some upset potential to it, while the day ends with a horrible in state rivalry between Colorado and Colorado State on Cbs Sports at 4. Monday, go back to work, and put off as much actual work as you possibly can while you dissect the week that was. Since it's opening week their is actually a game available, as Florida State and Pittsburgh plays at 6, but truthfully, much like the Sunday games, all that matchup will do is make you really happy that the NFL begins next weekend. Trackbacks
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