First of all, I'm sure the Utes were looking past San Diego State. Umm... uh... what? They played San Jose State? Oh. Well, then why were all of the local sports casters calling them San Diego State? No joke, I heard one of the guys on 1280 as well as Dave Fox call them San Diego State last week.
I'm sure nobody was looking past them though.
The good news is that this game in no, way, shape, or form, hurts our chances to win the MWC championship and punch our ticket to the mighty Maaco Las Vegas Bowl.
As a side, nothing screams Las Vegas bowl more than a sponsor whose primary tool is an artificial filler to round out those unsightly shapes. Just fill them up and slap a layer of paint on them and, bimbo, new fenders.
In reality, this was a really good game for the Utes. We learned a lot about them:
* When the game was on the line in the 4th quarter, the Utes sacked up and found a way to win. This team could have collapsed like a cheap tent, but they went out and took the game away from the Spartans. With a 3rd string running back no less.
* Our offensive line owned the 4th quarter.
* Our defensive line owned the Spartans. The Spartan offensive line all have giant block U's branded on their asses right now.
* We have an athletic QB who can run circles around people, and we have to teach him to GET OUT AND RUN AROUND PEOPLE. When was the last time you had to teach a QB *to leave* the pocket?
* When the game was on the line, Cain did have some really nice throws. That third and long to Peel in the middle of the field was huge. We've just got to get that the whole game now. He showed some real mental toughness on that drive.
* I haven't seen or heard anything about why Asiata didn't play in the 4th quarter, and I find it interesting that he had exactly 20 carries at the time he was taken out of the game. It makes me think that Whittingham felt comfortable enough with Wide and Shak that he decided before the game they weren't going to give Asiata more than 20 carries. It is too easy to give Asiata the ball when he's in the game and we don't want to wear him out before the conference games even begin.
* Am I missing something, or was that Shak's first carry of his career? If so, it was pretty memorable. Either way, we are really deep at RB. If we have 3 RB's to throw at teams, we can keep their legs fresh.
* We put a *lot* of pressure on our corners. Replacing two NFL corners with new guys is going to be painful at times. Still, these guys are as athletic as they come, and they will actually tackle. While they were abused like the waitress at a Provo Hogi Yogi on coupon day, they are extremely athletic. I believe that whatever problems they were having is related to technique, and will be something that will be fixed by Whittingham.
* We miss Sakoda. We have no answer there. Maybe we'll just go Meyer in 2003 and just go for it on 4th down from now on. I wouldn't be surprised if the Utes held an open tryout monday morning. Sakoda isn't doing anything else, can't we just throw a different jersey on him? Nobody will notice.
* Our front 7 is as nasty as they come. If we can coach our corners up, we will be in every single game.
An ugly win, but I don't think we're worried about style points right now. We have a good young team, that just need to focus on winning the MWC, which, if the BYU/Tulane game was any indicator, is going to be extremely difficult. Still, I like the way this team seems to be growing.
Go Utes!
U-Ute
I'm sure nobody was looking past them though.
The good news is that this game in no, way, shape, or form, hurts our chances to win the MWC championship and punch our ticket to the mighty Maaco Las Vegas Bowl.
As a side, nothing screams Las Vegas bowl more than a sponsor whose primary tool is an artificial filler to round out those unsightly shapes. Just fill them up and slap a layer of paint on them and, bimbo, new fenders.
In reality, this was a really good game for the Utes. We learned a lot about them:
* When the game was on the line in the 4th quarter, the Utes sacked up and found a way to win. This team could have collapsed like a cheap tent, but they went out and took the game away from the Spartans. With a 3rd string running back no less.
* Our offensive line owned the 4th quarter.
* Our defensive line owned the Spartans. The Spartan offensive line all have giant block U's branded on their asses right now.
* We have an athletic QB who can run circles around people, and we have to teach him to GET OUT AND RUN AROUND PEOPLE. When was the last time you had to teach a QB *to leave* the pocket?
* When the game was on the line, Cain did have some really nice throws. That third and long to Peel in the middle of the field was huge. We've just got to get that the whole game now. He showed some real mental toughness on that drive.
* I haven't seen or heard anything about why Asiata didn't play in the 4th quarter, and I find it interesting that he had exactly 20 carries at the time he was taken out of the game. It makes me think that Whittingham felt comfortable enough with Wide and Shak that he decided before the game they weren't going to give Asiata more than 20 carries. It is too easy to give Asiata the ball when he's in the game and we don't want to wear him out before the conference games even begin.
* Am I missing something, or was that Shak's first carry of his career? If so, it was pretty memorable. Either way, we are really deep at RB. If we have 3 RB's to throw at teams, we can keep their legs fresh.
* We put a *lot* of pressure on our corners. Replacing two NFL corners with new guys is going to be painful at times. Still, these guys are as athletic as they come, and they will actually tackle. While they were abused like the waitress at a Provo Hogi Yogi on coupon day, they are extremely athletic. I believe that whatever problems they were having is related to technique, and will be something that will be fixed by Whittingham.
* We miss Sakoda. We have no answer there. Maybe we'll just go Meyer in 2003 and just go for it on 4th down from now on. I wouldn't be surprised if the Utes held an open tryout monday morning. Sakoda isn't doing anything else, can't we just throw a different jersey on him? Nobody will notice.
* Our front 7 is as nasty as they come. If we can coach our corners up, we will be in every single game.
An ugly win, but I don't think we're worried about style points right now. We have a good young team, that just need to focus on winning the MWC, which, if the BYU/Tulane game was any indicator, is going to be extremely difficult. Still, I like the way this team seems to be growing.
Go Utes!
U-Ute
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