Game time!!!!

[Hot Lunch]

Ummmm yeah. He is a very good), he would maybe (and I stress maybe) be the 3rd best back in the P10 this year. Just an FYI for the future conf member, the guys better than him will all still be here next year. Hope that doesn't hurt your conf championship run in the first year.

I think BYU fans are downplaying how good Dion Lewis really is. The kid rushed for 1700 yards as a true freshman. Not many true freshman out there doing that every year. The dude is a real talent and one of the best backs in the country. I think the knock on Lewis is that the two guards and the center that started last night had a total of 1 start between the three.

[Flystripper]

I think BYU fans are downplaying how good Dion Lewis really is. The kid rushed for 1700 yards as a true freshman. Not many true freshman out there doing that every year. The dude is a real talent and one of the best backs in the country. I think the knock on Lewis is that the two guards and the center that started last night had a total of 1 start between the three.

I think he is very very good. I think it was impressive how physical the interior of Utah's defense was last night. All that being said, I don't think he is as good as the top tier of NCAA backs. Do I think he is an NFL caliber back? Absolutely. Do I think he is a legitimate Heisman candidate? No, not really.

[Moliere]

I think BYU fans are downplaying how good Dion Lewis really is. The kid rushed for 1700 yards as a true freshman. Not many true freshman out there doing that every year. The dude is a real talent and one of the best backs in the country. I think the knock on Lewis is that the two guards and the center that started last night had a total of 1 start between the three.

I think he is very very good. I think it was impressive how physical the interior of Utah's defense was last night. All that being said, I don't think he is as good as the top tier of NCAA backs. Do I think he is an NFL caliber back? Absolutely. Do I think he is a legitimate Heisman candidate? No, not really.

Dion Lewis is legit and is easily in the top 5 back in college football. The problem us BYU fans are having is that Utah's defense destroyed any run plays last night and made Dion look pedestrian almost every time he touched the ball. Utah's run defense last night was sick and I give them props for taking away that threat. They stymied a top 5 running back so kudos and props to them.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I think BYU fans are downplaying how good Dion Lewis really is. The kid rushed for 1700 yards as a true freshman. Not many true freshman out there doing that every year. The dude is a real talent and one of the best backs in the country. I think the knock on Lewis is that the two guards and the center that started last night had a total of 1 start between the three.

I defended Lewis earlier in this thread against Surfah. I agree he is very good. I wouldn't take him over Jackwhizz or LaMike without question. So I don't think it is downplaying him to say he isn't without question the best back in the country. Is he in the top 10 sure.

[cougjunkie]

I defended Lewis earlier in this thread against Surfah. I agree he is very good. I wouldn't take him over Jackwhizz or LaMike without question. So I don't think it is downplaying him to say he isn't without question the best back in the country. Is he in the top 10 sure.

Lewis is a good college back but he is not an NFL talent, I do not think Quizz or LMJ are either. Not many backs that size last in the NFL. Maybe a 3rd down guy but not an every down back.

Lewis also had big numbers last year but he also lead the nation in carries. Pittsburgh loves to run, run and run again no matter what the result is. Lewis had the lowest ypc of any back over 1500 yards last year. He is also without 2 tightends this year both of whom are now in the nfl. Lewis is good but not the best back in country or even close.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Lewis is a good college back but he is not an NFL talent, I do not think Quizz or LMJ are either. Not many backs that size last in the NFL. Maybe a 3rd down guy but not an every down back.

I think Quizz will play in the NFL. LMJ will have to return kicks or something else like Sproles most likely.

[Coastal Ute]

Regardless the play calling was horrible. No delays, draws, or screens (until the 3rd down at the end of the game). Shoot they never ran play action until the series where Burton got toasted. Lewis is the playmaker so they need to find ways to get the ball into his hands besides just handing it to him. Pitt had momentum and had Utah on their heels. On the road you need to play to win. Wanny is a pretty mediocre coach.

I basically agree with you here. I took a quick gander at some of the Pitt boards and noticed that a lot of the fans were complaining about Wannstedt's conservative approach by going for the tie when Pitt was in the red zone at the end of the fourth. This actually made sense to me because of Sunserri's limited experience (look what happened in OT).

I think BYU fans are downplaying how good Dion Lewis really is. The kid rushed for 1700 yards as a true freshman. Not many true freshman out there doing that every year. The dude is a real talent and one of the best backs in the country. I think the knock on Lewis is that the two guards and the center that started last night had a total of 1 start between the three.

I agree. Big East D-Lines or not, 1800 yards (rushed for 1799- I'll give it to him) is impressive. In Pitt's single OOC loss last year (came against NC State who finished the season 5-7) Lewis had 95 yards on 19 carries.

I was SHOCKED when I saw the box score for last nights game. Lewis had 25 carries and 75 YARDS. Wow. I predicted that Pitt's inexperienced O-Line would be a factor, and judging by those stats, it was (partially). Utah's d-line was solid. No arguing that. For anyone who watched Lewis play at all last year, a good portion of the yards he racked up were on his own. See for yourself in the link below.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCMGvFoNwLE"]YouTube- Dion Lewis Late Season Highlights[/nomedia]

I really am surprised that Cignetti decided to keep running Lewis up the middle. He must've seen something I didn't because Lewis averaged 3.0 per carry for this game (compared to last years 5.5 average). I did see them run it around the corners a couple of times successfully, so now I'm scratching my head wondering why they didn't diversify the running game a little bit more (hence Surfah's comments), especially because that is Pitt's great strength.

For those of you interested, here is a field level view of the highlights from last night. Great angle on Blechen's pick. That kid is a stud. If he stays healthy, I'll look for him to make big plays all year.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFvr5Nos2LU"]YouTube- University of Utah - Utah vs Pittsburgh[/nomedia]

[BoylenOver]

Just watched a replay of the game. A few things:

-Our defensive backs tackle really well. The LB's missed more tackles than the DB's, and the 'backers played fairly well.

-The red zone defense is phenomenal. Pitt's TD's came off a blocked punt and 11-yard drive, and the other came off a blown coverage.

-Wynn made a lot of throws off his back foot. Some worked, most didn't. It's a tough position for him to be in because he's not very big, so one or two hits could mean a lot of pain and possibly an injury, but sometimes you need to step up in the pocket and take a hit.

-We struggled to generate a pass rush from the front 4. Credit to Pitt, I felt like the offensive gameplan featured a lot of 3-step drops, which limits how much pressure a defense generates. But for how well the d-line did against the run and occupying blocks, there's room for improvement when it comes to pressuring the QB.

-I don't think I like seeing the camouflage UnderArmor with the red jerseys. Save it for the actual camouflage game.

-The pass interference penalty that extended Utah's final drive of regulation (at the 5:59 mark) was brutal. The defender was engaged with Brooks (I think) the entire play, beyond 5 yards, so if you wanted to call, say, illegal contact or even holding, okay. But the ball was nowhere near catchable.

P.S. we talk about how poorly Wynn handled the blitzing of Pitt, especially in the second half. It's true, but to be fair, Christopher's long TD reception in the 4th quarter happened because Pitt blitzed and Wynn made the read/throw.

[cougjunkie]

Just watched a replay of the game. A few things:

-Our defensive backs tackle really well. The LB's missed more tackles than the DB's, and the 'backers played fairly well.

-The red zone defense is phenomenal. Pitt's TD's came off a blocked punt and 11-yard drive, and the other came off a blown coverage.

-Wynn made a lot of throws off his back foot. Some worked, most didn't. It's a tough position for him to be in because he's not very big, so one or two hits could mean a lot of pain and possibly an injury, but sometimes you need to step up in the pocket and take a hit.

-We struggled to generate a pass rush from the front 4. Credit to Pitt, I felt like the offensive gameplan featured a lot of 3-step drops, which limits how much pressure a defense generates. But for how well the d-line did against the run and occupying blocks, there's room for improvement when it comes to pressuring the QB.

-I don't think I like seeing the camouflage UnderArmor with the red jerseys. Save it for the actual camouflage game.

P.S. we talk about how poorly Wynn handled the blitzing of Pitt, especially in the second half. It's true, but to be fair, Christopher's long TD reception in the 4th quarter happened because Pitt blitzed and Wynn made the read/throw.

GReat analysis, the camo was awful, also you are right on Wynn hitting CHristopher when Pitt blitzed good read and way to get rid of it. I still do not understand why Pitt would bring a blitz from their middle backers when it was the crossing routes that killed them all game, their backers who are closest to the slot guys are not quick enough to cover them or stay with them, so when you blitz them you expect your safeties or outside backers to cover 15+ yards and get there before Wynn gets rid of it? Chrstopher was wide open.

Also the long td was not blown coverage, Burton just got burned a small blemish on an otherwise great game by him.

[BoylenOver]

Also the long td was not blown coverage, Burton just got burned a small blemish on an otherwise great game by him.

I watched that play a few times. It was well-designed on Pitt's behalf, with the inside receiver (Shanahan, maybe) running a post and Baldwin faking outside before cutting back inside. There were two defenders covering the post and nobody covering Baldwin.

I say it was blown coverage because it looked like Burton was covering that short-to-intermediate area and he expected Taplin-Ross to cover "deep right" when he actually got sucked to the middle of the field by the post. But you could certainly be correct, junkie.

[cougjunkie]

I watched that play a few times. It was well-designed on Pitt's behalf, with the inside receiver (Shanahan, maybe) running a post and Baldwin faking outside before cutting back inside. There were two defenders covering the post and nobody covering Baldwin.

I say it was blown coverage because it looked like Burton was covering that short-to-intermediate area and he expected Taplin-Ross to cover "deep right" when he actually got sucked to the middle of the field by the post. But you could certainly be correct, junkie.

Looked like to me that Burton did not get his hips turned and jumped on the double move.

[Jarid in Cedar]

The thing I noticed rewatching it last night was the PF on Cullen in the fourth quarter was weak. The whistle blew a split second before he finished pancaking the defender. From our angle in the stadium, it looked like he was up around the head. Watching the replay on TV didn't show that, and it wasn't eggregiously late.

[BoylenOver]

The thing I noticed rewatching it last night was the PF on Cullen in the fourth quarter was weak. The whistle blew a split second before he finished pancaking the defender. From our angle in the stadium, it looked like he was up around the head. Watching the replay on TV didn't show that, and it wasn't eggregiously late.

I think they threw the flag because he drove him into the ground. He wasn't merely finishing his block, he added extra unnecessary force in forcing him into the turf. It's hard to fault the referee, especially considering the gift we got earlier in the drive, but compared to the other idiotic mistakes we made in the game it's forgivable.

[UtahDan]

I think they threw the flag because he drove him into the ground. He wasn't merely finishing his block, he added extra unnecessary force in forcing him into the turf. It's hard to fault the referee, especially considering the gift we got earlier in the drive, but compared to the other idiotic mistakes we made in the game it's forgivable.

I like Cullen. He needs to put a little weight on but he seems salty.

[falafel]

I just watched the 2nd half of the game from last night. Fun to see LA Ute sitting in the Muss with his homemade sign:

"PITT OF DESPAIR"