We've been talking about it for weeks, and now we have finally arrived. After a wet and rainy day in Rice-Eccles Stadium, the Utes prepare for their tough final stretch. It all begins with Hell Week. For the Cougars, every weekend has seemed like that, even when they win. This week the Cougars get to dry out with their bye week.
Consistently Inconsistent
Well at least the Cougars keep everyone guessing. I'd say they keep the games interesting, but the display of inept offenses in their game last week from both them, and Wyoming made that game very uninteresting. Thanks to some great kick returning by MWC Special Teams Player of the Week, Cody Hoffman, the Cougars had good field position often during the game. They used it to their advantage on the first drive as they scored a TD.
Throughout the game, Wyoming had problems with the snap. I'm guessing they had problems adjusting to the rain. After Wyoming QB Austin Carta-Samuels saved the first snap of the game from going over his head, he couldn't do the same with the second, as his Center sent it 20 yards over his head for a Safety.
After the free kick the Cougars got the ball near midfield but couldn't do anything with it. After a Wyoming punt bounced off a Cowboy player giving the Cougars the ball at the Wyoming 33, BYU was able to punch it in to take a 16-0 lead, and it looked like the Cougars may have finally fixed their offensive woes.
It was not to be. The Cougars failed to get any consistency, as they would be unable to do anything for about the next 2 and half quarters. During this stretch they had 3 consecutive drives gain a total of -3 yards. Later on at the end of the 3rd they managed to put together something a score a TD, and spent the rest of the game holding on before escaping with a 25-20 victory.
Heaps And Anai
BYU went through on Mendenhall's claim that this team is going to become a power running offense. The question is what does this mean for Heaps and Anai? Anai has been under a lot of heat. I personally don't think there is a way for him to save his job in the offseason, but I think as long as they win their next game, Anai will make it to the offseason. Normally you would think it's a foregone conclusion that the Cougars win their next three games versus UNLV, CSU, and UNM, but as inconsisent, and at time downright terrible, as this BYU team has been, you can never tell. Remember the Cougars would tend to let the lesser teams hang around even in '08, and '09 when they were clearly superior to them.
What this means about Heaps though is another question altogether. Is Mendenhall losing faith? Has Heaps not developed as well as they would have liked? Is this more a question about the supporting cast? I know Heaps is a true Freshman and he's only starting his 5th game, but remember Jordan Wynn's 5th start was the Poinsettia Bowl versus Cal. Granted, the Utes in '09 definitely had better talent than this year's Cougar team, so let's use a better comparison. Colorado State true freshman Pete Thomas.
Thomas has been the starter for every game for the Rams, so he's got 3 more starts than Heaps, however Heaps did play in those 3 games earlier this year. On the year the two QB's have the following stats. Heaps: 120/229 1057 yards, 2 TD's 7 INT's. Thomas: 170/251 1751 yards, 8 TD's 9 INT's. The important thing for Thomas is that in his first three starts he had 6 interceptions and 1 TD. Since then he's had 7 TD's and 3 INT's so he's starting to turn the corner.
Jake Heaps meanwhile threw his first TD as a starter this year last week, his 2nd overall. Unfortunately he had an ugly interception that got returned for a TD. I think it's fair to say Heaps isn't progressing as well as many expected. But how much of that is his supporting cast. It's been mentioned the problems the WR's have had holding onto the ball, as well as the difficulty of gaining confidence between QB and WR thanks to the disastrous QB rotation at the beginning of the year. Cougar fans better hope that this is just a rough year, and it's not because of the supporting cast, because the only WR who won't be back next year is Luke Ashworth, and he's the one WR Heaps seems to be getting a rapport with.
Tuned Up, But Is It Ready To Run?
The Utes finished their tune-up portion of the schedule with a 59-6 victory over the Colorado State Rams. Even in a downpour for the first half of the game QB Jordan Wynn bounced back nicely from his 3 INT game last week. Wynn ended up as the MWC Offensive Co-Player of the Week with his 23 of 29, 321 yard, 3 TD performance. The important part of his statline was the 0 INT's. In fact the only one of his 29 throws that came close to being intercepted happened when he got hit as he threw it. Wynn made smart decisions the entire game, including choosing to throw it away at key times, instead of forcing a play.
The Utes opened up their playbook a bit, just to give their next 5 teams something to look at on field. Like last week, they attempted a flea-flicker pass for a large gain. This week it didn't score a TD, but it set up the first TD of the 2nd half.
Another play they decided to show everyone was a surprise onside kick in the second half. It was executed to near perfection. Phillips kicked it softly in a straight line, giving it just enough juice to roll 12 yards so he could recover it. As Phillips watched the ball, the rest of the kickoff team went and blew up the CSU Kick Returning team. They did such a good job, that when Phillips recovered, there wasn't a Ram player within 5 yards. All told, this was about the most perfect onside kick I've ever seen.
Still Turnovers
It wasn't all perfect for Utah though. Early in the game Shaky Smithson fumbled a punt return, setting up the Rams deep in Utah territory. While I'm willing to give Shaky the benefit of the doubt because of the rain, and Shaky did redeem himself with his performance throughout the game, the Utes really need to stress ball security.
During the game they managed to force three fumbles, but only recovered one of them. Meanwhile super speedster Reggie Dunn also fumbled one other time, but the Utes were able to recover. The Utes added a late 4th quarter interception, to actually win the turnover battle, and decrease their year long margin to -5, but they still need to do much better.
Especially with Air Force coming up next. The Cadets have always been good at forcing turnovers. That's how they win the majority of their games. Last year they forced 3 turnovers in the first half against the Utes. If the Utes really want to prove they are worthy of their record, this game is the perfect time to start protecting the ball, and not let the Falcons stay in the game.
View From The Red Zone
While it was a pouring rain for most of the first half, at least the Utes made it worth it with the offensive show in the first half. One fear in a rain like that, is that teams will get ultra conservative. Neither team really did that, as both really tried to move the ball through the air. Besides that perfect onside kick was almost worth it.
A fan a couple rows behind us asked Mad Giggler if he would sit down because they couldn't see. To him, and all fans like him I say get a clue. You are at a football game. You shouldn't go to a game to sit down. You go to a game to cheer. If you can't see because the person in front of you is standing up, that means you are the problem, not them. Get up on your feet, and off your butt.
Hell Week
So why do the Utes struggle against the Falcons? In 2008 it took an overtime stop to preserve the victory. In 2004 they actually had a 14-0 lead, and were the team that came the closest to defeating that team. In 26 games between the two teams they are separated by 19 points. It's a game that always comes down to the wire. But why?
I think it's because of the defensive system the Utes run. The Utes employ an aggressive man-to-man scheme, that likes to blitz, and bring pressure from odd places. It's a defensive system that allows for playmakers to make plays, and unknowns to become playmakers. This is especially true of the LB's and Safeties.
Air Force, meanwhile requires, assignment sound, unselfish, defense. Instead of making a play, each defender must pick a spot, and protect it. You are given an assignment, and that is all you are to worry about, play after play. The Utah defense is set up, so that everyone helps everyone out, and if a player makes a mistake, the rest of the team is aggressive enough to help cover it up. Against Air Force, one mistake leads to a big play.
Playing Air Force almost requires a defense to tone down on the aggression, and play within itself. The Utes feed on aggression and play making with it's athletes. It's no wonder these games always go down to the wire.
Wounded But Dangerous
Unlike the past few years, the Utes play the Falcons in the second half of the seasons, when they start to wear down thanks to being undersized. To make things worse for the Falcons is a string of injuries they've suffered in recent weeks including preseason all conference fullback Jared Tew. The Falcons also come into the game on a two game losing streak.
But make no mistake, this team is still a dangerous team. The Falcons still have the nations #1 rushing offense with over 300 yards per game. They also can throw the ball. They don't do it a lot, but QB Tim Jefferson is an accurate passer when asked. Each of the last two years, the Falcons have thrown the ball against the Utes more than expected. In both games, the Utes were so focused on the run, that Air Force was able to find success through the air.
Media and fans have already started to look ahead. Everyone is preparing for the November 6th showdown with TCU. Utah cannot afford to do the same. Even though the Falcons are limping into this game on a two game losing streak, Utah must give them their full attention, or we can all forget about November 6th.
Undefeated Watch
Well #1 went down for the 3rd consecutive week. This week it was Missouri knocking off BCS #1 Oklahoma. Two other undefeateds went down as well. Auburn beat fellow undefeated LSU in their SEC showdown. The only undefeated that played a non-undefeated team and lost were the Oklahoma State Cowboys. However since Oklahoma State plays in the Big XII they would eventually have had to face the winner of the Missouri/Oklahoma game.
We are now down to 7 undefeated teams in the nation. Of those 7 the only two who even have a chance to play another undefeated team are TCU and Utah who match up in two weeks. We now know which teams to root for to create the biggest possible BCS mess.
Rankings Game
Utes are now 7th in the Coaches poll, and 8th in the AP/BCS polls.
Of the teams ranked ahead of us this week, #1 (#2 in BCS) Oregon travels to USC to what is always a close battle between the two teams. Although I fully expect the Ducks to take care of business.
Fellow undefeated, and the nation's feel good story of the year, travels to Iowa for it's last real test of the year. While upsets can happen, should they win this week, Sparty will most likely finish undefeated.
Three weeks ago South Carolina beat #1 Alabama, then lost the following week. Two weeks ago Wisconsin beat #1 Ohio State, then escaped with a 1 point victory last week. How will Missouri react to defeating BCS #1 Oklahoma? They travel to face #14 Nebraska.
The three teams in the best position to jump the Utes (Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Ohio State) all face average teams. They should all win, and none should be close games. However, none of their opponents carry enough cachet for a jump of Utah. Especially if Utah can buck history and actually have a comfortable game against Air Force.