A novel thought about interceptions

[SeattleUte]

So this morning while on the way to work I tuned in "the Herd" for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, nothing on the Sugar Bowl during the segment I listened to (Phil Fullmer was non tap to discuss it at 9:30). Instead I was treated to a savaging of Georgia's quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is expected to go no. 1 in the draft. The Herd "all but guaranteed" he'd be a bust. The Herd said that Stafford has a terrific arm, but he throws interceptions "against the good teams." He had nine this season which The Herd said is "a huge number in college football."

So I puzzled and puzzled till my puzzler was sore. And I thought, maybe, just maybe, good defenses intercept passes and overmatched quarterbacks throw them. Anyway, a little tidbit for people like YOhio and virtually all of CB who think BYU giftwrapped the game for Utah.

P.S., The Herd says that the SEC, Big 12 and Pac 10 are better than the Big Ten because the "warm weather players" are skinny and fast, and the cold weather palyers are pudgy and slow. Interesting theory.

[landpoke]

So I puzzled and puzzled till my puzzler was sore.

I find taking an hour our so break between "puzzlings" will prevent that.

And lotion.

[Goatnapper'96]

So this morning while on the way to work I tuned in "the Herd" for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, nothing on the Sugar Bowl during the segment I listened to (Phil Fullmer was non tap to discuss it at 9:30). Instead I was treated to a savaging of Georgia's quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is expected to go no. 1 in the draft. The Herd "all but guaranteed" he'd be a bust. The Herd said that Stafford has a terrific arm, but he throws interceptions "against the good teams." He had nine this season which The Herd said is "a huge number in college football."

So I puzzled and puzzled till my puzzler was sore. And I thought, maybe, just maybe, good defenses intercept passes and overmatched quarterbacks throw them. Anyway, a little tidbit for people like YOhio and virtually all of CB who think BYU giftwrapped the game for Utah.

P.S., The Herd says that the SEC, Big 12 and Pac 10 are better than the Big Ten because the "warm weather players" are skinny and fast, and the cold weather palyers are pudgy and slow. Interesting theory.

Hall did giftwrap the game for Utah. To not see that is ignorant. As for your argument it is best evaluated by looking at Utah's turnover differential throughout the entire year. With such spectacular athleticism did the Utah defense create 6 turnovers each game? Clearly, the game was an anomaly for Utah and BYU. Certainly, Utah's athleticism created it to some extent but most informed college football fans will conclude that Max Hall was in huuuuuge fog. Perhaps he will never come out of it.

[il Padrino Ute]

Hall did giftwrap the game for Utah. To not see that is ignorant. As for your argument it is best evaluated by looking at Utah's turnover differential throughout the entire year. With such spectacular athleticism did the Utah defense create 6 turnovers each game? Clearly, the game was an anomaly for Utah and BYU. Certainly, Utah's athleticism created it to some extent but most informed college football fans will conclude that Max Hall was in huuuuuge fog. Perhaps he will never come out of it.

Gift wrap?

Other than the 1st (which was thrown right to Dale)and the 5th (which took a strange bounce off the receiver and right to Dale) the other 3 were great plays by Utah players. Johnson came out of nowhere to grab his; Smith had slipped then recovered to make a great play; Kruger is just a stud.

I'll give you 1 of 5 that was gift wrapped; one a freak bounce. 3 were all Utah.

[TripletDaddy]

Hall did giftwrap the game for Utah. To not see that is ignorant. As for your argument it is best evaluated by looking at Utah's turnover differential throughout the entire year. With such spectacular athleticism did the Utah defense create 6 turnovers each game? Clearly, the game was an anomaly for Utah and BYU. Certainly, Utah's athleticism created it to some extent but most informed college football fans will conclude that Max Hall was in huuuuuge fog. Perhaps he will never come out of it.

Sheesh, when did you become such a homer?

No wonder you would hand Utah the consensus national title.

Max Hall didn't gift wrap that game to the Utes. The Utes b-slapped him, took it out of his hands, unwrapped it, played with it, and then threw it in the garbage.

Then again, your crazy logic bodes well for SC. Losing to Oregon State was an anomaly if you go off SC's season defensive statistics, W/L record, etc. I like the way you think!

[il Padrino Ute]

Sheesh, when did you become such a homer?

No wonder you would hand Utah the consensus national title.

Max Hall didn't gift wrap that game to the Utes. The Utes b-slapped him, took it out of his hands, unwrapped it, played with it, and then threw it in the garbage.

Then again, your crazy logic bodes well for SC. Losing to Oregon State was an anomaly if you go off SC's season defensive statistics, W/L record, etc. I like the way you think!

You sat next to me and we watched two different games. LOL!

It's all about perceptions, eh?

[Goatnapper'96]

Gift wrap?

Other than the 1st (which was thrown right to Dale)and the 5th (which took a strange bounce off the receiver and right to Dale) the other 3 were great plays by Utah players. Johnson came out of nowhere to grab his; Smith had slipped then recovered to make a great play; Kruger is just a stud.

I'll give you 1 of 5 that was gift wrapped; one a freak bounce. 3 were all Utah.

The first was a gift, the second turnover was a dumb throw into double coverage. It was a great play by Johnson but Hall shouldn't have thrown the ball to Collie. The fumble was also a gift wrap as Hall wasn't hit hard but the ball just fell out of his hand as he was bringing it close to his body. Hall was forcing throws when he should not have. With the final to Dale a gift that leaves two unaccounted for that I have either forgotten or just don't want to talk about.

The point of the matter is if it was such overwhelming athleticism then Utah should have had a similar turnover differential all year. I haven't checked the stats or numbers but my guess is that Utah's overwhelming athleticism didn't produce an average of 6 turnovers each game. If they did, I will admit then that it was a function of overwhelming athleticism and BYU was at your mercy. This is not taking away from Utah, they played well but I still have watched Hall for two years and he is in a fogggggg. I just believe if it was so much Utah they would do it more frequently and to other quarterbacks. Whereas Hall played like shit against TCU and again against Arizona. The trend is that Hall is in some sort of fogg because while he didn't dominate those three teams in 2007, he was certainly far more effective than he was in 2008.

[Goatnapper'96]

Sheesh, when did you become such a homer?

No wonder you would hand Utah the consensus national title.

Max Hall didn't gift wrap that game to the Utes. The Utes b-slapped him, took it out of his hands, unwrapped it, played with it, and then threw it in the garbage.

Then again, your crazy logic bodes well for SC. Losing to Oregon State was an anomaly if you go off SC's season defensive statistics, W/L record, etc. I like the way you think!

It wasn't a situation where BYU was at Utah's mercy, Hall played like shit. This Utah defense is not insurmountable. Now to be clear Hall could have played much better and I still believe Utah would have won, they are a better team this year.

I hand the title to Utah because on the field of play nobody will have beaten them, if they beat Bama. I tend to believe teams that win games are the better teams, you tend to believe that when talking about BYU.

[il Padrino Ute]

The first was a gift, the second turnover was a dumb throw into double coverage. It was a great play by Johnson but Hall shouldn't have thrown the ball to Collie. The fumble was also a gift wrap as Hall wasn't hit hard but the ball just fell out of his hand as he was bringing it close to his body. Hall was forcing throws when he should not have. With the final to Dale a gift that leaves two unaccounted for that I have either forgotten or just don't want to talk about.

The point of the matter is if it was such overwhelming athleticism then Utah should have had a similar turnover differential all year. I haven't checked the stats or numbers but my guess is that Utah's overwhelming athleticism didn't produce an average of 6 turnovers each game. If they did, I will admit then that it was a function of overwhelming athleticism and BYU was at your mercy. This is not taking away from Utah, they played well but I still have watched Hall for two years and he is in a fogggggg. I just believe if it was so much Utah they would do it more frequently and to other quarterbacks. Whereas Hall played like shit against TCU and again against Arizona. The trend is that Hall is in some sort of fogg because while he didn't dominate those three teams in 2007, he was certainly far more effective than he was in 2008.

I'm not saying Hall had a great game against Utah, but I think Y fans would rather blame Hall than give Utah's defense credit.

[Hot Lunch]

I'm not saying Hall had a great game against Utah, but I think Y fans would rather blame Hall than give Utah's defense credit.

95% of Y fans are clueless when it actually comes to football though. They all post on cougarboard.

[TripletDaddy]

You sat next to me and we watched two different games. LOL!

It's all about perceptions, eh?

I think I saw what you saw. I don't think Hall gift wrapped anything. I think he is mentally weak....or at least, not as strong as it takes to run the table for a season.

We simply saw Hall exposed by Utah's defense. Hall doesn't perform well under pressure. Utah simply was doing that which had been done in other games.....namely by TCU.

Utah beat BYU that evening, plain and simple. The sun didn't get in anyone's eyes, the dog didn't eat anybody's homework.

I know Austin Collie disagrees with me, but other teams besides BYU can beat BYU.

[TripletDaddy]

It wasn't a situation where BYU was at Utah's mercy, Hall played like shit. This Utah defense is not insurmountable. Now to be clear Hall could have played much better and I still believe Utah would have won, they are a better team this year.

I hand the title to Utah because on the field of play nobody will have beaten them, if they beat Bama. I tend to believe teams that win games are the better teams, you tend to believe that when talking about BYU.

Goat, I would agree, but the 3 losses this year...it was the same tale of the tape each time....stupid mistakes, mental weakness, poor execution, and poor preparation (or so it would seem). In all 3 instances, it wasn't like we are lining up against all-world Div 1 players.

To me, that means that we didn't gift wrap anything. We never had the gift to give in the first place.

I guess you are saying that the mistakes were actually an anomaly and that we did give those games away, or at least the Utah ones.

If you lose by a field goal or a TD, maybe you gave the game away. If you lose by 20+ points, you didn't gift wrap anything. At least that is what I think.

[il Padrino Ute]

I think I saw what you saw. I don't think Hall gift wrapped anything. I think he is mentally weak....or at least, not as strong as it takes to run the table for a season.

We simply saw Hall exposed by Utah's defense. Hall doesn't perform well under pressure. Utah simply was doing that which had been done in other games.....namely by TCU.

Utah beat BYU that evening, plain and simple. The sun didn't get in anyone's eyes, the dog didn't eat anybody's homework.

I know Austin Collie disagrees with me, but other teams besides BYU can beat BYU.

Fair enough and agreed.

[Goatnapper'96]

I'm not saying Hall had a great game against Utah, but I think Y fans would rather blame Hall than give Utah's defense credit.

There is no doubt Utah was the better team and Utah has a very stout defense. However, BYU didn't have enormous trouble moving the ball they just turned it over and from what I saw they weren't turnovers created by jarring hits or defenders in one on one coverage making spectacular plays on the ball, such as Hall's final interception against Arizona. My memory was stupid fumbles and bad reads that resulted in telegraphed passes or throws into double coverage. If Utah's defense was so overwhelmingly dominating then they would have done to everyone what they did to Max Hall.

This seems to me a case where the BYU homers have some facts on their side. Previous results, even the ones of piss poor accuracy, is not always an indicator of future results.

[il Padrino Ute]

There is no doubt Utah was the better team and Utah has a very stout defense. However, BYU didn't have enormous trouble moving the ball they just turned it over and from what I saw they weren't turnovers created by jarring hits or defenders in one on one coverage making spectacular plays on the ball, such as Hall's final interception against Arizona. My memory was stupid fumbles and bad reads that resulted in telegraphed passes or throws into double coverage. If Utah's defense was so overwhelmingly dominating then they would have done to everyone what they did to Max Hall.

This seems to me a case where the BYU homers have some facts on their side. Previous results, even the ones of piss poor accuracy, is not always an indicator of future results.

Utah's defense was certainly better against BYU than other teams, I will agree with that. My point is just that fans (myself included) tend to downplay the rival more than the others.

All I really know is this:

48-24 and 12-0.